Teen Dream is the third full-length record by Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House. The album leaked to the Internet on 19 November 2009, and was officially released on 26 January 2010.http The album was produced by Chris Coady who has also produced albums by TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Blonde Redhead.http It is also the duo's Sub Pop debut. The album was released in the UK by Bella Union and in Mexico by Arts & Crafts.

Bonus DVD

A special edition DVD package was released containing either a CD or Vinyl and a DVD, featuring psychedelic visuals for each track from Teen Dream, produced by a separate director.

Recording

The recording of Teen Dream took place after extensive touring of the group's previous album. The group strove to create a more "sophisticated" album, and according to the group, the demos of this record were comparable to the final tracks that made up their previous record. Also, their use of extensive reverb was held back significantly. According to Alex Scally "There's very little reverb on the record."

Recording this album was considerably more expensive. According to Alex Scally, "Every bit of money we got, we spent. The recording was insanely expensive. Every single step of the way, we've just tried to go more, go further."http

Critical reception

Reception for Teen Dream was very positive. Review aggregator Metacritic, which collates reviews from various publications, indicates a score of 82 (indicating "Universal acclaim"). Many reviews commented on the change in sound including BBC Music, who stated that "the most unmistakeable sound on Teen Dream is that of a band truly finding its own voice",http and Pitchfork (awarding the album 9.0 out of 10) called it "both the most diverse and most listenable of their three full-lengths, and yet it never seems like a compromise". Several publications focused on Legrand's vocals, with Rolling Stone calling the "dusky torch singing... excellent"http and The Boston Phoenix praising her voice as "coiling like smoke in the arches of the church".

Some reviews, however, were less complimentary. In a score of 4/10, The Guardian called the work "oddly icy and melodically a little ineffectual".http While The Austin Chronicle called the album "solid" and awarded it 3 stars, the review stated that the duo have "still got some gold dust to kick up".http

Sales chart performance

References

Artist/Band Information

Beach House is an American dream pop and indie rock duo formed in 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally. Their self-titled debut, Beach House, was named the 16th best album of 2006 by Pitchfork Media."". December 9, 2006. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.

History

Formation and first album

The band formed in 2004, composed of Alex Scally on guitar and keyboards and Victoria Legrand on vocals and organ. Legrand is the niece of both film composer Michel Legrand and singer Christiane Legrand.

The band's song "Apple Orchard" was featured on a Pitchfork Media mp3 mixtape in August 2006. In October 2006 their self-titled debut album, Beach House, was released on Carpark Records. It was included in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2006 list.

Second album and other projects

Their second album, Devotion, was released on February 26, 2008. It was received with greater acclaim and also was included in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2008 list. On October 21st, 2008, the group released the Used to Be single.

Beach House also contributed a cover of Queen's "Play the Game" for the iTunes Store release of the Red Hot Organization's 2009 compilation, Dark Was The Night.

In 2009, Legrand provided backing vocals on the song "Two Weeks" by the indie rock band Grizzly Bear. She would collaborate with the band again by providing vocals to "Slow Life", the band's contribution to the soundtrack for the film Twilight: New Moon.

Third album

Teen Dream, the duo's third album, was released on Sub Pop on January 26, 2010 . The album was released in the UK by Bella Union and in Mexico by Arts & Crafts. It contains a newer version of their 2008 single "Used to Be". "Norway" was made available as a free download on the band's website on November 17, 2009; and promoted on iTunes as the Free Single of the Week starting January 12, 2010.

The album was produced and engineered by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear).Pitchfork, , 20 October 2009. Accessed 25 January 2010.

Style and influences

The band is often labeled a "dream pop" band due to their slow, atmospheric rhythms and haunting lyrics. Singer Victoria Legrand's vocals have often been compared to those of Nico.

The group's influences include The Zombies, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Grizzly Bear, Big Star and Chris Bell.

Discography

Albums and EPs

*Beach House (October 3, 2006), Carpark

*Devotion (February 26, 2008), Carpark

*Teen Dream (January 26, 2010), Sub Pop

*Zebra EP (April 17, 2010), Sub Pop

Singles

*"Apple Orchard" (2006)

*"Master of None" (2006)

*"Heart of Chambers" (2008)

*"Gila" (2008)

*"You Came to Me" (2008)

*"Used to Be" (2008), Carpark, #27 UK Indie Chart

*"Norway" (2010), Bella Union

References