Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Album Review:
Beach House - Devotion



Beach House - Devotion

(Carpark, 2008)

86.5%


"Holy Dances"(mp3)





"I haven’t been able to get you off my mind for months now. You might be this year’s Boxer. Maybe not the #1 album of the year, but #1 in my heart.”


“Really? You mean that?”


“That’s why I don’t think I should be the one to review you.”


“What? Why?”


“It’s just I’ve seen you naked too many times. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still gorgeous. A knockout, really. It’s just I’d pegged you for an 8.9 or 9.0. And you’re just – not. I mean I didn’t know what to think when I found out that bracelet wasn’t even yours. It’s not like it was my favorite thing about you. Maybe I just needed an excuse.”


“You don’t like Daniel Johnston?”


“No, I mean if he’s good enough for Jeff Mangum, he’s good enough for me. And you wear it so well.”


“Better than him?”


“Don’t push it. Though I will say you’re way better than that slut Mazzy Star.”


“Really? You think so?”


“Yes.”


“What about Galaxie 500?”


“Look, I can’t even say I really understand that comparison. So I’m not going to answer that question.”


“A few weeks ago you said I was the first album to make you feel this way in a long time. That you already knew in January I was going to be one of your favorites of the year.”


“I know I said that. It’s just you never change. I mean even from your last album. And on this one, it’s like you’re in this trance the whole time. This crazy lovesick trance. And I just can’t be around you all the time when you’re like that.”


“I thought that’s what you loved about me.”


“It is. It’s what I love and hate about you. I hate how you make me feel about myself. Which isn’t really your fault. There’s just this moment when I see this other side of you, when you get all Animal Collective on me and the song just rolls around on the floor in this fit of glee. I want more of that.”


“It’s just this mood I’m in. You should relate. You’re the one who still listens to “Guest Room” over and over again feeling sorry for yourself. I guess ‘Some Things [Do] Last a Long Time.’”


“We’ve been over this. That isn’t even your song. Look, I think it might be time for me to see other albums. 2008 is looking like it’s going to be a great year for me. And you’re fantastic, really you are. It’s just I’m too close to you right now. Let’s give it a few months. If we both still feel the same way, I’ll put you in my top ten.”


“What about top five?”


“Don’t push it.”



5 comments:

Hackworth Artifex said...

Break-ups can be so hard.

How long do I have to wait before I can ask Beach House out?

The Moon said...

LMAO!

Femme Fatale said...

You keep yer dirty hands off her.

panopticon said...

I like it, but there's no "Master of None" that immediately grabs me by my sad parts of my brain and loops indefinitely.

Good but not great. Or maybe it's just that I'm burned out on quiet right now?

Femme Fatale said...

I agree that "Master of None" is incredible. One of the few more upbeat tracks on either of their albums.

Although I would argue that BH isn't really about standout melodies or kickass instruments or that "big payoff," but rather the subtletly of a moment. They are one of those bands you have to listen to repeatedly in order to unearth those moments, after which point you will want to listen to the songs over and over again until you've milked them for all they're worth.

I think my favorite song by them at the moment is "Childhood" from that first CD, for the reasons described above.

I love you, Beach House!