Word: albumful
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Beach House’s “Teen Dream” is the musical version of a narcotic, carrying away the listener into a heavenly realm of lush pop melodies and intimate organ beats. Coming into their own on their third album, the Baltimore dream pop duo—consisting of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally—maintain their past convention of chill intimacy, while adding new layers that knit together to produce a more polished sound, setting the album apart from their previous work...
This newer, more refined sound successfully complements the group’s developing lyrical philosophy. The idea of love as enslavement that was evident on 2008 sophomore album “Devotion” has been twisted here into an image of love as enchantment. The hypnotic cage is now a hypnotic spell, delivered in a musical atmosphere similar to that which last year brought Grizzly Bear success...
...Norway” is the most dreamy of all, with fairy tale imagery and singing so soft it’s almost like Legrand is gasping for air. “Lover of Mine” is the most instantly accessible track on the album, where the starlight sounds are only slightly offset by the deepness of Legrand’s voice. “10 Mile Stereo,” a late album highlight, follows suit with an uncertain organ and a quick, almost Postal Service-esque beat...
...typical Beck style, the collaboration cuts across a variety of different musical styles - blues, electronica, rock and folk. And Gainsbourg proves she's more than just his muse. Although her vocals sometimes sound like mere whispers, she conveys intense emotion throughout the album. On "Le Chat du Café des Artistes," - the only song sung entirely in French - her dark intonations complement the song's haunting strings. On "Voyage," she channels Enya at a drum circle - and somehow manages to give the song a spiritual quality. (See pictures of Paris expanding...
...most intimate track on the album is "IRM" - that's French for an MRI scan - which pulsates with clanging industrial beats. In 2007, Gainsbourg suffered a brain hemorrhage in a waterskiing accident and surgeons had to drill through her skull to save her. Despite recovering fully, she insisted on undergoing MRI scans for several months after the accident. "The sounds inside the machine are nasty to hear," she says. "They're brutal and aggressive, and rhythmically very chaotic. But they're also musical." The lyrics on "IRM" address her attempts to exorcise her medical demons: "Leave my head demagnetized/ Tell...