KWCW

On the nine hazy melodies that comprise Baltimore duo Beach House’s debut album, the group manages to fuse a Warhol Factory aesthetic and a substantial shoegazer influence. The comparisons to artists like Nico and Galaxie 500 made by blogs and other music press reflect this. “Beach House” is certainly an album indebted to the past—its influences are incredibly evident, but it doesn’t necessarily suffer as a result. Its atmospheric drones and sweet melodies envelop the listener, resulting in a warm sense of detachment. Due to its thirty-five minute length and adherence to a fairly simple, consistent musical aesthetic, the album never delves into indulgence. The flip side to this is a lack of depth. The album never feels like an exploration of new ideas, but it’s worthwhile nonetheless, if not just for its sheer beauty. “Beach House” reveals the potential of a band capable of crafting beautiful pop songs, but also leaves the listener hoping their next effort will be a little more ambitious.

4/5

Recommended for Fans of: Galaxie 500, Nico, Mazzy Star, recent Broadcast

- Bryan Sonderman

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Indie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.