"Your love is stag in the white sand/Oasis child born into man," moans dream pop duo's singer Victoria Legrand on Beach House's opening track "Zebra". Mysterious and fragmented lyrics like that of "Zebra" is very persistent throughout the entirety of Beach House's third LP Teen Dream. Following their sophomore hit Devotion, Beach House continues their mellow, drawn out dreamy sound that their first two albums Beach House and Devotion pride itself on. Teen Dream is more eerie and chilling compared to the first two works, but has a more hooked feel to it.
If a video was set to the music if Beach House, it would all be set in slow motion. The very haunting and dreamy guitar line from "Norway" drips over the very distant tom-tom hits. Though Teen Dream can have its shares of cheesy drum machines and organ lines, especially on "Walk In the Park", it all seems to blend well with the very heavy dream-like trance that Beach House is attempting to put upon their listeners.
The lyrics that Legrand talk of love and romance immensely; "Don't forget the nights when it felt all right/Are you not the same as you used to be" ("Used To Be"). Looking at the title of this LP, Teen Dream, the "dream" is of two lonely teenagers wanting love; a very common theme, but when put on top of the very creepy, yet tender, instrumentation of the band, it's a very fitting theme. "Come into our minds and you rush through our lives/We parted our lips and we reached from inside," croons Legrand on very quirky track "Lover of Mine" which can be interpreted to the teen lovers running away from their troubled normal lives to their "teen dream".
Teen Dream's very dreamy haunting atmosphere really doesn't sink in until the third listen where it just feels right. The shoegazy feel of "10 Mile Stereo" and the very quirky drum machine from "Lover of Mine". This album was released way back in January, so it is a very "winteresque" album. It's like a fresh sip of hot chocolate and yet give you chills of the very vivid pictures that Beach House paints for you on Teen Dream.
Overall: 8.4/10.0
Track Listing:
1. Zebra - 9.5
2. Silver Soul - 8.5
3. Norway - 8.5
4. Walk In the Park - 8.5
5. Used To Be - 8.0
6. Lover Of Mine - 9.0
7. Better Times - 8.0
8. 10 Mile Stereo - 9.0
9. Real Love - 7.5
10. Take Care - 8.0
Sample:
"Zebra"
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