"Something in the way your heart is nailed upon a hand, swimming in the cold waters, head above the sand."
Many many years ago, I heard The Velvet Underground's eponymous third album for the first time, and I've had a weakness for dreamy Psych-Rock ever since. Luckily, I spent my formative years in L.A. during the eighties, which was home base for a music scene called the Paisley Underground. Bands such as The Dream Syndicate, The Gun Club, Green on Red, and Opal were all, in their own ways, masterful interpreters of the VU sound. In the years since, I've listened to a lot of attempts by bands trying to approximate this sound, but they've always seemed like little more than Mazzy Star tribute bands. Beach House is an exception, however. This is largely due to Victoria Legrand's distinctively haunted vocals (something like Jesse Sykes in a drug-induced torpor) and the fact that this Baltimore duo takes the sound somewhere slightly new. Devotion sits nicely between their less-adorned debut and their more accessible recent Sub-Pop release, Teen Dream.
Devotion
1. Wedding Bell (3:54)
2. You Came to Me (4:05)
3. Gila (4:46)
4. Turtle Island (3:59)
5. Holy Dances (4:19)
6. All the Years (3:36)
7. Heart of Chambers (4:25)
8. Some Things Last a Long Time (2:31)
9. Astronaut (5:04)
10. D.A.R.L.I.N.G. (3:18)
11. Home Again (4:08)
The description sounds great, I can’t wait to give this a listen. So far just about everything you’ve posted that I wasn’t already familiar with, I have been surprisingly pleased to hear. I have been less than impressed with the preponderance of new music for the past few years, so it’s nice to have a trusted filter.
ReplyDeleteJeff, thanks. I don't think you'll be disappointed by Beach House. Very good psych-Rock, but nothing compares to Mazzy!
ReplyDeleteWould you please upload it again? Can't find it anywhere else in such quality. Thanks.
ReplyDelete