Beach House – Bloom

It’s starting to feel like Beach House’s ‘time.’ 2010’s Teen Dream saw the Baltimore duo begin to emerge from under the shadow of friends and touring partners Grizzly Bear, and there’s a sense that Bloom could take them to the next level.

It’s a strong start; Myth covers familiar territory, with its snaking guitar and Victoria Legrand singing like she’s blowing smoke rings at you from across the table. Elsewhere, Wild is successful in pushing for a bigger sound while standing up to its knees in reverb. Lazuli, with its cute keyboard loop and breathy vocals, is better still. But the album suffers from the same flaw as its predecessor, namely it’s all a bit one-paced. These are wonderfully written and arranged songs. But after six or seven of them, it all gets a bit samey. No doubt Bloom will propel Beach House to much bigger things, but a few more memorable tunes wouldn’t have gone amiss.