Beach House have always, on paper, been a duo I should like. I'm a sucker for Dream Pop and Beach House follow all the traits and stereotypes to the nth degree.
Sadly, I first listened to the duo in 2012 when Bloom was making rounds as a defining record but, for the life of me and multiple listens later, I couldn't understand why. Sure, Bloom had its moments and sounded somewhat distinct as much as two souls trying to create a universe on an eight track in a bedroom can, but it lacked polish, vocally wasn't too distinct, lyrically not strong at all and sadly, I fount their more mainstream contemporaries more fun.
The dreaded term 'out of depth' rears it's head throughout this review, but in the three year gap between Bloom and Depression Cherry and, after spare hours of trying to understand the band's style, I'm still no closer to really embracing Beach House and even worse, Depression Cherry sounds tired and nothing more than a failed rehash of Bloom.
The shoegazing hinted at before is in full swing here, the music stacked into layers to create a distorted, lush mix that's too hard to pick out individual distinct traits and instead creates waves of sound. Victoria Legrand's vocals switch between asserted maturity to fragile high but lack distinction, with lyrics that don't capture attention and instead, act more as another layer to the mix.
Whilst the first half of the album is easily the strongest of the material presented, the second half drags down the albums already slow pace and makes it truly unbearable at times. PPP is two minute filler tripled into a six minute trudge that is void of enjoyment, closer Days of Candy sounds like two songs stitched together with a vocal track relating them by force.
It does, as mentioned before, occasionally culminate into something that works. Space Song is a superb five minute otherworldly trek with a catchy hook for a chorus and and never outstays its welcome, following that is Beyond Love which, whilst more of the same, has catchy chords throughout and runs at just the right length.
Lead single Sparks is a three minute gem muddied into a five minute My Bloody Valentine tribute which is an absolute shame as you can tell there's something great within. Opener Levitation somehow sets the tone for the record and then on retrospective listens, is one of the only longer tracks that sounds like a whole idea realised.
If you've not noticed, the length of the album is the main problem with it. The majority of the tracks sounds stretched way-beyond what should have been pressed and sadly, there's barely any pauses or stoppages. Its just a forty-five minute onslaught of swirls and simple beats which only occasionally, sound distinct from one another.
The other issue with the record is just how tired and repetitious the sound of the duo sounds. As I said before, I tried getting into Beach House in my typical fashion of giving everything a spin and after going through them all and reaching Depression Cherry, the duo have reached the point where it sounds like they're running low on ideas.
There's only so much you can do with a one vocalist and one person performing all the music and Depression Cherry sounds like the breaking point. If it's your first trip with the duo, you may find an overstretched but at least at times, enjoyable album. If you've followed the band, you may find it's the same story, retold without the sharpness or clarity of before.
There's a decent EP buried within Depression Cherry that, with a bit of trimming and a bit of exclusion, probably would have been a more worthwhile listen.
But sadly, its a long, dull and ultimately, average album, which is an absolute shame because again, there is good buried within, but as a collective piece, at times its not worth the effort of listening to.
5/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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