Devotion
Beach House
Mistletone, 20084 stars 4.5 stars
This duo's self-titled debut was a gem of melancholy pop, and one made better by its lack of complexity or pretension - it was as if the two longtime friends were off in their own sun-drenched world, and the fact that the resulting tunes had made it onto a CD was merely a pleasant coincidence. The Beach House sound is like a textured reflective surface; it doesn't show you what to feel, but it shows you what you're already feeling and douses it in a hazy, dream-like glow. And, like the former, the new album is in no hurry - in fact it's so relaxed it will literally slow your pulse to a crawl. Shimmering and spacious, Devotion takes the formula and adds to it - the organs, guitars and understated percussion are still there, but the meandering daydreams that made up Beach House have grown into real songs.
Hindsight: When I wrote this review I was thrown a little by the more 'full' sound of the new album. But after seeing these guys live - wow. They actually sound as good live as they do on vinyl/plastic, if not better. I haven't been able to take this album out of my CD player ever since (Thursday September 25, 2008).
Published in mX, Thursday 14 February 2008.
