Have you ever considered having a conversation with a ghost? The answer is most likely “no,” but if you change your mind, Beach House would be the perfect duo to provide the soundtrack for the occasion.
Formed in 2004 in Baltimore, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally came together to form Beach House. With only 3 full-length albums in the vault, the duo has firmly established their musical identity while reaching with each new release to expand their sound. The music these two create features slide guitar, organ, simple percussion and the hazy echo of Victoria Legrand’s deep, soulful vocals.
Their music is typically classified as lo-fi, dream pop due to the cloudy rhythms, passive instrumentation and the lyrics that reflect desire, uncertainty and loss. The compositions have gotten crisper and more defined with each album and their 2010 release Teen Dream is the most approachable yet. Don’t be fooled by the image of summer that their name implies. This music seems more appropriate as the carefree days come to an end and the darkness invades the waking hours.
So if you do decide to have a chat with the undead presence in your apartment, condo or home, keep these hauntingly sweet, lovelorn tunes in mind.
If you like: Mazzy Star, The Pretenders, Beck’s Sea Change album, The xx, Bat for Lashes
Check out: Beach House (start with Teen Dream, continue with Devotion and graduate to Beach House)
Feeling brave: Cat Power, Karen Elson, M. Ward, Atlas SoundAI level: Intermediate