Bloom
A towering monument of dream pop, wrapping listeners in shimmering vintage synthesizers, cascading slide guitar lines, and velvet, late-night melancholy.
May 14, 2012 · Sub Pop
A towering monument of dream pop, wrapping listeners in shimmering vintage synthesizers, cascading slide guitar lines, and velvet, late-night melancholy.
May 14, 2012 · Sub Pop
A heavy, church-like organ chord rings out, instantly anchoring the hazy bedroom-pop of their past into something massive and permanent. This is where the duo stopped drifting and built a cathedral. Recorded after two years of relentless touring, these ten tracks lock the signature slide guitar and vintage synthesizers into driving, physical drum beats that push through the fog. You can feel the cold air of late-night highways in the velvet vocals and the bright, cascading melodies. It is the precise moment their private bedroom dreams became towering, widescreen anthems, perfecting a sound that feels both intimate and infinite.
“Of the numerous bands now revisiting the neon ’80s, Beach House—with Chris Coady, returning on production duties—deserves credit for constructing the most unmistakable sonic identity”Read review
“The melodies, guitar­scapes and thrift-shop organ swells make for exquisite comfort”Read review
“For all their undoubted accomplishment, Beach House seem to have reached their limits as a two-piece, or worse still, have simply finishing running their creative gamut altogether”Read review
“Bloom is in part brilliant but maddeningly safe and, ultimately, is a decidedly unsatisfying listen”Read review
“It’s not the band’s most immediate music, but the album’s challenging mix of heartbroken words and aloof sounds rewards patient and repeated listening”Read review
“On this album, anticipatory ache doesn’t lead into the chorus; it is the chorus”Read review
“The only thing that actually elevates Bloom from the linearity of its reverb-caked narcosis is the effort of vocalist Victoria Legrand, whose husky, melancholic voice provides a weighty counterpunch to the album’s papery songs”Read review
“It’s not as exciting as the debut, but then this isn’t necessarily music to get excited to”
“Beach House’s decision to call this record Bloom is almost too perfect. Over the course of four albums that’s exactly what this band has done”Read review
“There’s pleasure in hearing a band do what they do so peerlessly well: croon sweet, sweet lullabies to console us in our fleshy prisons”Read review
“Bloom sounds larger and more expansive, the guitars shimmering more than they used to shimmer, the drums and bass benefiting enormously from a stronger low-end”Read review
“’Bloom’ oozes simplicity, honesty and contentness. It will be a welcome sound of summer for ‘Teen Dream’ fans, but don’t expect anything too radical”Read review
How does Bloom sound next to the rest of Beach House's catalogue?
An existential longing takes center stage in the songwriting, elevating the band's usual romantic melancholy into a grand, cosmic inquiry about time and memory.
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