Beach House - Once Twice Melody
Dream Pop – Released February 18, 2022 – 18 songs, 84 mins
ROZ
Move over Australia, there’s a new popular music scene in town and its name is Baltimore. For the second time in 2022, A band stemming from this thriving rock scene in Maryland, USA is taking its turn running through TSR’s music review gauntlet. Please welcome Beach House and their newest album release, Once Twice Melody.
Warm analog swells, rhythmic arpeggiation and soothing vocals - the sort of elements you’d expect to find in todays synth pop, synthwave, vaporwave and, in this scenario, “dream pop” genre. The percussion and patterns are minimalistic, yet unique. Creative use of vocal effects and the utilization of the entire stereo field display the meticulous care that was taken when mixing and balancing each track. Autotune and vocoder effects are tastefully applied and layered on top of lead vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand’s talents which are then placed front and center in the mix. Atmospheric chord progressions from her synthesizer wrap around her on both sides like a warm, heavy blanket; oh this is a dream, alright.
Pink Funeral, Runaway, ESP, Only You Know, Masquerade, and Illusions of Forever stand out, however the albums highlights are plentiful. Over and Over delivers a synth-driven bridge that freezes the listener for one euphoric moment in time; a seven minute track that definitely does not feel that long. Speaking of length, the band finds a way to mitigate its albums long duration in an intelligent way by splitting the album into four parts, or ‘discs’, that they released at various times over the span of three months. This keeps the listener from getting too fatigued while also allowing them to compartmentalize the experience - coming back fresh to pop in each disc at different times as they so choose.
Mazzy Star meets M83. With its otherworldly soundscapes and a seemingly endless array of textures, Once Twice Melody made an eighty minute runtime feel like eighty seconds. Finally, a proper introduction to the dream pop genre. Thank you, Beach House.
Overall Rating: 9.0/10
Favourite Song: Over and Over
LUNDI
Oh the sweet sweet sounds of Beach House. The Baltimore duo are the pioneers of synth infused dream pop and they shown no signs of letting go of that throne. On Once Twice Melody they empathically make the case no one else is even close.
Once Twice Melody has the nuances, the musical elements, the cut your heart out lyrics. It’s all there and it is carefully crafted. But this album isn’t about meticulously analyzing the details, it’s about letting the total creation take over ones emotions. Over the course of the sprawling 18 tracks and 84 minutes the duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally present a dream landscape for the listener and take you on a journey. It’s a sensation of melting or just simply drifting blissfully away.
The album rewards every listen. Finger picked guitars on title track Once Twice Melody, sprawling strings on Pink Funeral, spacey shoe gazing synths on Masquerade and the awe inspiring mid-song breakdown on standout song Over and Over is simply put *chefs kiss*. The highlight list is extensive on this album and is continuously growing with every repeat. There are moments on each and every track to fall in love with. Once Twice Melody is slow paced dream. Lie back and float away with it.
Once Twice Melody is a dynamic serotonin releasing joyride. As close to an out of body experience as one can get with headphones on. It might be long but there isn’t a single bad song. Hey Beach House, maybe two albums next time?
Overall Rating: 8.2/10
Favourite Song: Over and Over
REID
Mmmmm - Beach. After two years of COVID life, even a mention of the word is exciting. House – not so much. This week’s album is Once Twice Melody by American dream pop duo, Beach House. They’ve been around since 2004 releasing ten albums over that period. I know my TSR counterparts are fans. I do love the hit single, Lemon Glow, from their most recent release, 7. Otherwise, starting from scratch.
The album starts on a high. The 1-2-3 of Once Twice Melody, Superstar and Pink Funeral give me an appreciation for the duo. Victoria Legrand, vocals and keyboard and Alex Scally, guitar, keyboard and backup vocals create an ambiance with their music. As the album pushed on and multiple listens ensued, an unavoidable problem arose; the feeling they create is pretty dull.
Listening to One Twice Melody rendered me lost. I tried breaking up the album and listening in the four sections but it just didn’t help. Song after song I’d get a little closer to the edge with Legrand’s monotone vocals. There were a few great moments throughout but every song meandered on for four plus minutes making it difficult to enjoy a song from start to finish.
The reality is dream pop isn’t a brand of music I listen to often. At 18 songs and 85 minutes, Once Twice Melody is simply biting off more than I can chew. Looking ahead to this album on Episode 003 of the TSR Podcast, Lundi said ‘it’s really chill, close your eyes look up at the stars type music’. This is absolutely true. Unfortunately, it’d put you to sleep.
Overall Rating – 5.0/10
Favourite Song – Once Twice Melody