Sunday 2 May 2010

Beach House played at Islington Mill in Salford in February

I know this is sooo late but I wrote it for a magazine who then decided not to run it so I thought someone should get the benefit ...



"Three albums in and the signposts to Baltimore’s Beach House are well established (Mazzy Star, Velvets, My Bloody Valentine) while the less obvious ones are in strong evidence live (Feist, Cranes, M83).

Comparisons aside, with only a guitar (Alex Scally), keyboard (Victoria Legrand) and drum kit in tow, it’s sometimes hard to credit such a lush, plaintive layering of sounds. In truth, not much shoegazing territory is covered in their recent output, Legrand’s torchy vocals compete squarely with the swirls of instrumentation rather than fade under an FX pedal.

God save us from the term ‘dream-pop’, but an hour in the Beach House underworld, even in the Mill’s ramshackle surrounds, can at least begin to tickle your subconscious. A set list heavy with the new Teen Dream LP yields audience favourites despite being only a month old and the live experience suggests they’ve equalled and maybe surpassed their lush eponymous debut."

2 comments:

Ryan MINCHIN said...

You've disappeared off Faceache. Come back! Your 'silly notes' brighten my day.

Manhattanchester said...

Oh bless you Mr Minchin, I'm just having myself a wee holiday from it to try and get some writing done, I'm a compulsive screen refresher otherwise. I'll be back in a Terminator fashion soon! x