Beach House: “Lazuli”
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If you see the name Beach House, and you expect a band you can frolic and sip cold chardonnay to, you might be in for a surprise. The band specializes in slightly melancholic, emotionally-dense and sonically-spacious suites that are much more cold-winter’s-day than fun-in-the-sun.
Baltimore-based duo Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand formed Beach House in 2005. Almost right out of the gate Beach House garnered love from the indie taste-makers at Pitchfork who glowed at the band’s song “Apple Orchard.” In 2006 year Beach House released their self-titled full-length debut, which they followed up with 2008′s Devotion. The band made the jump to Sub Pop to release 2010′s excellent Teen Dream.
On May 15 Beach House will release their fourth long-player Bloom. “Lazuli,” the record’s first single, begins with a synth line that’s cute, but also a little bit unnerving. Like an out-of-tune toy piano or a small child left by their lonesome in a place they shouldn’t be, there’s something precious about it, but also a little scary. Big, orchestral synths come in waves and crash like the surf against rocks. Legrand’s voice is just as hauntingly gorgeous. She has the voice of a woman lost, singing into the ether for something that’ll never return. The layering of the song is so alluring. Elements come and go, like that little synth line from the beginning, and make for a song that’s as beautiful as it is unsettling.
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