Album Review: Teen Dream by Beach House

January 21st, 2010 • 1 comment Album Review, Rock
Tags: Baltimore, beach house, Dream Pop, Teen Dream

To many, Baltimore, the city on the bay, may seem like a decidedly unlikely source for some of the most innovative music being produced currently in the United States. Quietly tucked between New York and Washington, the home of the Orioles has managed to produce numerous bands that represent a myriad of genres.

I think perhaps most surprising is that the still-fledgling genre of dream pop has managed to flourish on the mean streets of Baltimore of all places. Animal Collective is no doubt the biggest name to grow out of this tradition, but before you empty your crab bucket, take notice of the increasingly popular duo, Beach House, which also lives and works out of Maryland.

Their third album, Teen Dream, is slated to be released by SUB POP on January 26, 2010, but has been floating on the internet for several weeks. The band’s first major label release, Teen Dream is less ambient when compared to their two previous LPs, Devotion (2008) and their Self-Titled debut album (2006).

The elements that band members Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally draw upon in the production of Teen Dream are not all specific to the dream pop mantra. I am particularly fond of the use of percussion, which is a fairly significant shift in their music. This album is by no means dance music, but there is a decidedly potent rhythm that would lead me to believe that if I were to see a live show of theirs I would be raving about it for weeks and weeks after the fact. Read more »