BEACH HOUSE - my favorite dream-pop duo

Beach House is an indie music duo from Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scully. They met in 2004 and started making music together, creating the dreamy Beach House sound. Despite rumors, they are not romantically involved but have a strong musical connection. Beach House's music is described as dreamy, ethereal, and psychedelic, falling into the genres of indie pop, dream pop, and shoegaze. They have released several albums since 2006, with Teen Dream being their breakout album. Personally, Beach House's music holds a special place for the speaker, providing comfort and support in various emotions and situations. The lyrics are poetic and open to personal interpretation. Beach House's music reflects the complexity of human existence and the impact of emotions. Hello, my name is Maggie, and I am a 21-year-old sophomore in the graphic design program at ASU. And tonight I am going to discuss my favorite band in the whole wide world, Beach House. I'm going to talk about who they are, what their music is like, and what they mean to me, personally. So whether you've heard of the band or not, or if you're a music lover or not, I'm very excited to share my favorite music with you on this short episode. So get ready to dive into the dreamy and melancholic sonic landscape that is the one and only Beach House. So, who are Beach House? What is Beach House? Beach House is an indie music duo from Baltimore, Maryland, and their names are actually Victoria Legrand and Alex Scully. They met through the Baltimore indie scene in 2004 after both having graduated college. They became friends and just started jamming out together on mostly programmed drums, steel guitar, and organ, creating a very early concept of the classic Beach House sound, as I like to think of it. Something I really love, personally, is the relationship between Victoria and Alex. And they are actually not a couple. They are not dating or romantically involved. I used to think they were just because of their amazing chemistry, which is not only seen visually when they are playing shows together, but it's so evident sonically when you're listening to their music how well they work together. You know, there's amazing, powerful, beautiful vocals from Victoria, accompanied by Alex's amazing, jangly guitar. And it just works so well together. There's actually an Elle Australia article about Beach House where Victoria called Alex her musical soulmate, which I think is a very perfect way to put it, and that is very beautiful. In 2006, Beach House released their first album, self-titled Beach House. It was released through Car Park Records, and it was ranked 16th on Pitchfork's Best Albums of that year. And what's absolutely mind-blowing is that this album was recorded in Alex's basement over two days. Why Beach House? It seems the duo came across their name pretty randomly after a little bit of brainstorming. To quote Victoria, We had numerous sessions about what we should call ourselves. It was pretty funny. We tried to describe all these otherworldly type things, things that would reflect the way we sounded, and there was a mention of a beach party on the moon. We already had a song called House on the Hill, and it basically just came out one day. Beach House. Why not just name it this? I think we were lucky. Beach House is often described as dreamy, ethereal, lush, and even psychedelic. Beach House falls into the genres of indie pop, dream pop, and shoegaze. Shoegaze is categorized by distorted guitar effects like lots of reverb and breathy vocals. To me, a lot of shoegaze sounds loud and fuzzy. It is called shoegaze because performers of the genre are prone to staring at their shoes while performing in order to operate the reverb pedals for their guitar. To me, Beach House falls in the category with the Cocktail Twins, Slow Dive, and definitely Mazzy Star. If you like any of those, you'll most likely like Beach House. Beach House has been active since 2006 when they released their self-titled debut release. Since that one, they have had the album Devotion in 2008, Teen Dream released 2010, Bloom in 2012, Depression Cherry in 2015 along with Thank Your Lucky Stars also in 2015, the B-Sides and Rarities album in 2017, 7 in 2018, and most recently, Once Twice Melody released in 2022. Album Teen Dream, released in 2010, is considered Beach House's breakout album. With absolutely legendary tracks like Silver Soul and Zebra, the album really helped put the duo on the map, and Teen Dream was listed as number 5 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2010 with the following notes. Teen Dream did little to alter Beach House's core characteristics, slow-motion beats layered with hazy keyboard drones, rippling guitar figures, and Victoria Legrand's melancholic melodies, but greatly amplified them to the point of redefining the band's essence from that of introverted knee-gazers into assured, emotionally assertive force. Alright, so for the next half of the podcast, I'm going to get personal and talk about my own relationship with Beach House and what their music means to me. So, it was the year 2016 when I first discovered Beach House. I actually first picked up the albums Depression Cherry and Devotion from the CD section at my local library. I vaguely recognized Depression Cherry for their track Space Song, which is probably Beach House's most well-known and iconic and incredible song. On a trip to England that summer, I primarily listened to Devotion and Depression Cherry on repeat. To this day, the visuals of the English countryside, as well as every sense that flooded my brain during that trip abroad, it's all burned into my memory with those Beach House albums as the background music. And by listening to these albums now, there is a magical feeling I can always go back to, and I remember how it felt when I first listened to them. In my research, I found a really good article about Beach House on themedium.com written by Michelle Kim. I think this quote just about sums up the magic of Beach House for me. Their sound is captivating. Too close for comfort, yet distinctly out of reach at the same time. What is it about their music that overwhelms the physical space around you? Everything from nostalgia to emptiness to a myriad of other emotions you can't even begin to untangle seeps into the space of your chest. Suddenly, you're acutely aware of your own presence, caught missing something that perhaps you've never had even to begin with. Beach House was definitely the soundtrack of my teen years, and now it is playing a huge part as I enter my early 20s. I go through phases where I am into a different Beach House album, and I love all the albums in different ways. Right now, the Beach House album I am into is Thank Your Lucky Stars. I really think that Beach House's music can aid in any emotion I am going through, whether it's positive or negative, and it provides me comfort and support no matter what. I don't think they're just a sad band that makes sleepy music or spaced-out music. Yes, I listen to Beach House when I'm sad, but I also listen to it in times of contentment or triumph. I listen to them when I run, I listen to them when I can't sleep, and there's like no other band I can do that with. Beach House can be for any occasion. And not only do I love Beach House for their lush, sonic landscape that soothes me like no other, I really love their lyrics. Beach House lyrics are poetic and ambiguous, inviting you to expel your own meaning to them. Because of this, I feel like Beach House lyrics are incredibly personal and heartwarming. A particular lyric I tend to take a lot of comfort in is from the song A Walk in the Park, and the lyric is, In a matter of time, it will flip through my mind. This song cradled me throughout an emotional breakup, reminding me that all feelings ebb and flow, and I'll be okay in just a matter of time. There's literally so many Beach House lyrics that I have embedded my own meaning on, like A Walk in the Park, but I think that's just the most obvious example for me, and most relatable one in a way. And to close, I would like to say another quote from the Medium.com article written by Michelle Kim. Beach House is attempting to hold a mirror up to our human existence through their music. In the lives we lead, there are often feelings of sadness, of happiness, of hopefulness, and everything in between. Sometimes we aren't always able to put to words why we have those feelings and the impact they have on us, how they move us, and how they change us. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast today. I had a lot of fun researching and recording it. I hope that maybe you learned something or took something else away from this podcast, as it is a topic I hold very close to my heart. Take care.