As if the Alan Rickman google doodle wasn’t enough to get our heart strings going, the Beach House’s new EP - ‘Become’ fosters a gathering of old-friended memories full of dream pop teenage bliss and bruised heart punk rock. Punk rock?I know. Stay with me on this one.
Let me bring you back to 2010, or whenever it was that you listened to Beach House’s iconic white album. Yes, the Beatles also had a white album, but I think it’s clear which I’d rather listen to. Filled with Dream pop synths and lush guitar twinkling like shooting stars on a New year’s eve night sky. Silver soul is the number one song for a fireworks display and if you don’t believe me then close your eyes, imagine the sparking colours in the night sky, fireworks colliding with one another and music turned up high enough to block out the sound of the world around you.
This song and so many other Beach House songs have been playing on loop on every ‘Dream- pop’, ‘Soft rock’ or ‘Late night’, ‘Drunk fights’ Spotify playlist that’s been going since 2014. And all for good reason. Those songs are amazing, and that cannot be understated. But it’s been a couple of years. What happened to the bedroom pop, dreamy craze and dazed vocals of that era? What happened to the Mac de Marco’s, the Her’s, the Beach House of those times, have they gone overboard?Is the trend over? Has that musical period ended?
It’s far from over, and the new Beach House album is here to remind you of that. Going back, and I mean right back, to the clustered tones and the gentle interlocking sounds, Beach House pays homage to the psychedelic music of the Cocteau twins, Slowdive, Lush, the Pale saints…
The list goes on and on. But most importantly they pay homage to themselves and the inspiration for the era that was ‘dream-pop and indie of the 2010s’. This record store day release will not be forgotten in a rush. There’s something too precious and delicate about it. It’s Beach House at its purist, at least that's what it definitely sounds like. Beach House fans and soon-to-be fans will rave about this fully-fleshed-out EP in years to come.
That’s what is so punk rock about it. It’s different. It’s going back to its roots and it’s lighting them up so they dance as glittering flames in the night sky. It’s creating a sound that takes the dream-pop that was commercial and turns it into something more pure dream pop than ever. There are other bands that have gone the other way, adapting their sound to something different than the dream-pop sound.That has worked perfectly for them and they’ve been able to create beauty and rhythm in those sounds. These are the bands that are going forward, musically speaking. But there’s a lot to be said, in going backwards. And that’s what Beach House is doing. Going back in time, retracing the steps of the classics, reenacting the sounds that began a whole musical movement - something like that at least. It’s not the most punk rock thing ever, I’ll give you that. But I think Beach House deserves more musical credit than they get.
There’s a lot to be said about listening to music on vinyl. Heck maybe this EP is more on the record store day rush that I expected. But regardless of whether that’s true or not, I’ll let you in on a little secret. According to my boyfriend, this album sounds just as good on the wrong vinyl speed as it does on the intentional one - and I won’t lie he was listening on the wrong speed for quite some time. Now if that doesn’t tell you that this EP is quite a masterpiece, then I don’t know what will. The musical era of which Beach House was such a vital part of, is not over. In reality, it is more than far from over.