2010 spells the 20th anniversary year for King Tut’s and a wealth of big acts are set to grace the stage, still you will go a long way to find someone to match tonight’s act on terms of quality. Beach House are pretty much at the forefront of this dream pop movement that is taking the musical underground by storm.
Combining atmospheric rhythms with charming pop hooks and moving lyrics, it is no wonder Beach House are being latched onto by the mainstream media as one of the ‘hot new bands’ for 2010. However, this year’s early runner for album of the year, the beautiful ‘Teen Dream’ is the band’s third full-length release, it would appear the band have been allowed to reach a peak before having a spotlight cast upon them.
Tonight’s support comes from Bella Union labelmate Lawrence Arabia, who manages to win over much of the capacity crowd with brand of folk inspired pop.
When Beach House takes the stage I find myself surrounded by people seemingly overwhelmed with ecstatic awe, vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand takes front and centre and certainly provides the main focal point for the set. Opening with a short interlude to warm up the band quickly coast into the recognisable haunting beauty of ‘Walk In The Park’ before moving onto to the new album’s lead single ‘Norway’, a blissful 70s pop effort which has been instrumental in the band’s move to the helm of this scene.
The Baltimore duo woo the crowd with additions of humour and charm between songs, both Legrand and bandmate Alex Scally, give that genuine impression they are enjoying being here without spelling it out. The band exchange banter with the crowd about the gloom of it being Wednesday night before introducing the ‘R rated section of the show’ kicked off with the murky sensuality of ‘Silver Soul’.
The show keeps a superb flow considering the amount of gaps the band have to fill with banter due almost constant rejigging of equipment to setting up new dreamy soundscapes to work with the live act. The band close on yet another effort from the latest record in ‘10 Mile Stereo’, the uplifting almost shoegazey effort wraps up the night perfectly, it’s hard to see how anyone here can have failed to be won over by tonight if they weren’t already under Beach House’s gorgeous spell.
Instantly likeable and visually lovely, their adorable sound, encapsulated in their new album, is the very epicentre of what Beach are about. At one point a crowd member pronounces his love for Legrand to which she sweetly replies just “that’s really nice”, capturing not only a delightful modesty but also embedding the feeling of this sweet joy the band bring. Beach House is certainly riding at the start of a wave and I would not be surprised if we see then back very soon on a bigger stage.
The breathtaking mainstream breakthrough album ‘Teen Dream’ is available now on Sub Pop.
Photogragh: Euan Anderson
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