Take Care

Quietly but surely enough, Beach House has become one of the best American bands making music today. With "Bloom," their newest album, they've done something very few bands do -- they've made four consecutive, consistently strong albums, where each one builds upon the last. In my generation the best examples of this are Yo La Tengo, from "Painful" through "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Out"; Wilco, from "A.M." through "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"; and Spoon, from "A Series of Sneaks" through "Gimme Fiction." Today, the Walkmen, TV on the Radio, and the Arcade Fire belong there too, and Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend will probably get there (and I'm sure I'm missing a couple of other young bands). This is very good company, where everyone writes rock records with a well-understood mission and relatively easy appeal -- but not one that's too easy because, after all, this is indie rock.

Beach House, as they've noted in interviews, have had a career arc that isn't very common anymore. Their first two records, as promising as they were, weren't incredibly popular, ablaze in Internet buzz. They could take their time on tour learning their strengths, rather than having to perform prematurely on large stages, as so many bands have to do now. In fact, their albums follow a classic pattern: demo to sad sophomore release to harnessing a bigger sound to then smoothing it out to reach a larger audience. And now there's an evident confidence and comfort in their work that gives them a big lift.

I preferred "Devotion" and "Teen Dream," when their songs rocked so hard for being so slow, fuzzy and dreamy. "Bloom" is just a bit too smooth in its lyrics, melodies and its placement of crescendos -- a bit too clear that, yes, this is Beach House's moment. (And what a moment it is: "Bloom" was the best-selling album at Newbury Comics when I bought it there last month!) But it's quite good nonetheless. My favorite song is the final one, "Irene." Not surprisingly, it's the one where Victoria Legrand starts singing about strange paradises. Above is a live version from the recent tour, in Charlottesville, Va., where it stretches and stretches.

Thanks to Beach House for the post's title.