Beach House - Once Twice Melody review
goths rise up for your national anthem
I’ve been listening to Beach House since their 3rd album Teen Dream back when I was still living in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. This wasn’t generally the type of music I was listening to at the time, but they had so much buzz around the internet I had to give them a listen. Teen Dream was such a melancholic but fun/woozy dream pop album. I hadn’t really heard a band leverage these sounds to create soundscapes like this. Things like drum machines with synthesizers alongside guitars, haunting vocals and catchy choruses made this a band to keep a look out for. For sure one thing that always stuck out to me in this early releases was the guitars. Fun riffs and chords that complimented the synths. It wasn’t that this was depressing music, but there was a level of sadness and goth energy to it despite the bright colors it almost represented.
Since then the group has been honing down what makes them so great with record being better than the last. Surely they’d be coasting right now, but honestly they were still putting out some really great new music that was challenging but also fun to just be in. This type of dream sound, you can almost lose yourself in. I still remember a moment seeing Beach House at Sound on Sound Festival and just basking in their sound. In a way its wholly unique, despite being familiar. And despite how serious they sound, they still know how to have fun. Anyway that was years ago and Beach House have a new album out in 2022. It is LONG.
Beach House’s newest album, Once Twice Melody, just dropped on February 18, 2022 and contains 18 songs split into 4 “chapters.” Each chapter of the album has its own style and is a bit different from each other. I would describe listening to this album in one sitting, almost like you’re just melting into the Beach House vibe. I cannot lie, this album is way too long for one sitting and its tough to recall parts from the album earlier in the cycle. That’s not always a bad thing, its just hard when you have so much material to cover, you eventually stop remembering the earlier stuff. Anyway for this album review I’ll be covering each chapter individually. I’m also not the biggest lyrics guy either, so unless I caught it by ear, I won’t really comment on it. Lets dive in.
Chapter 1 / Pink Funeral
Chapter 1 starts with Once Twice Melody, which is definitely in Beach House’s usual sound/style, but presented in a much more lush manner. Everything just sounds brighter and pretty on here and is generally inviting with a bunch of shimmering synths, synth bassline, driving beat, somewhat distorted vocals. What’s really great here is the drums that accompany the track.
Its a solid start to the project and gives you an idea where things might be heading. Superstar is next with clearer vocals and guitar this time around. Instead of shimmering synths the guitar line is the main focus while this underlying synth in the background that serves like this droning bass. Things come ahead in the chorus and later in the track just comes even more to life. One thing I love about Beach House is that even when they’re downbeat and a bit more challenging, they still have these very catchy parts in their songs and some excellent hooks.
Pink Funeral, the chapter’s title track, presents an even bigger change this time with its drums and rhythm. Its easy to see why this song was chosen to be the title as sonically it brings in so many elements from the previous tracks, into its own overarching theme here or something. Idk what I’m saying lol, but its got everything here, the synths, the 16th note high hats. You can tell that this just sounds bigger for Beach House, more grand. Their ambition shows with this sound. They just sound so confident. Guitar solo fucking absolutely slaps.
Rounding out the final few tracks is Through Me, which sounds so reminiscent of Teen Dream with its drums and shiny synths but upgraded. I haven’t really talked about it yet but it goes without saying, but Victoria Legrand’s vocals really are just SO good across all these songs so far. Its really great to hear the growth this band has had over the past decade and how far they’ve come.Chapter 2 / New Romance
Chapter 2 kicks off with Runaway, and really hammers home the theme of this section of the album I think. You can feel the goth romance vibes here shine through the vocoder vocals and layered synths. This that type of music you would expect to hear at the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks. Very 80s vibes.
We also finally get our first sorta ballad of the album with the following track ESP. By this point its a welcome reprieve and its still got great drums and strings to make it sound big. But the huge welcome addition is the acoustic guitar which just fits so well. This project, I mean I already said it a few times, but it really just sounds like they’re in their bag right now. Its just so much bigger, like Beach House is now a band band and not just that one indie band, you know what I mean?
To expand on this, the Chapter title track New Romance sounds like the clear big sound push to challenge the likes of Tame Impala. Psychedelic but yet pop at the same time, while keeping the same gothic 80s sound. And if I’m not mistaken there’s a drum machine kicking along as well. This is such an upbeat song and I’m surprised it wasn’t chosen as a single yet. Just seems obvious and maybe that’s why?
Ending this chapter is Over and Over, a 7 minute epic. One thing about long tracks is that they need to hold your attention span. Considering how long this album is even at this moment on the record, I feel like Beach House expects their listeners to either listen to these separately or all the way through. Either way this track is great and provides great payoff. As the track builds in the first half and rises with the synths and drums, the vocals are just a clear highlight. As you get to the middle of the track, it stops a bit with this building synth and then later drums. This feels like the “solo” of the song so far, like intentionally wants you to be in this vibe for a bit. I think personally this song goes on just a bit too long. If listening to this album all in one sitting, you may start feeling fatigue right at this point as we start delve into the deeper cuts of the album. If you’re listening to it through vinyl (or manually on a streaming service if you wish) and like take some time to digest each chapter I feel like that would be a much better experience.
Again its just a matter of preference. Either way, I personally would’ve preferred something a bit shorter but they go for it. As we start heading into the deeper tracks I start to notice that it may be hard to remember parts of the previous tracks, sometimes only because of the similar woozy vibe.Chapter 3 / Masquerade
Now fully in it. Once Twice Melody’s deep cut zone. Chapter 3 begins with a true ballad with Sunset. Beautiful acoustic guitars over haunting vocals. Weird distorted synths at the end are very cool too. Just feels like a sunny day with a cool breeze. Just feels like such a nice song honestly.
This then goes to one of my favorite songs on the album, Only You Know. Man what a fucking track man. Starts off like a shoegaze song and slowly builds into this sick rocking track by the end. Drums are kicked up a notch, and the guitar is so good here too. This is just what I really like musically. The guitar solo type thing that happens here also needs to be called out to. What a fucking cool riff. I just really like this song, like man those drums are so fire.
Another Go Around is another ballad on the album, but this time with an electric guitar instead of acoustic and goes a bit harder as well. This is the type of bedroom pop that will probably inspire so many people to write like this. Its simple, its to the point and it sounds great. Beach House’s ability to create such catchy / poppy choruses is a huge strength and separates them from the pack of these dream pop bands and artists. Its similarly haunting, sad and beautiful all at the same time.
Ok I know I said Only You Know was my favorite off the record, but Masquerade might just be a very close second IF NOT ACTUALLY the best song on the album. This is where usually an album might just start getting tiring, but Beach House really fucking brings it here. The beat is just unreal. That bell sounding synth is just SO HARD. Synth bassline is hard, these vocals go so hard, man I am just gushing all over the elements of this song. The goth vibes are here, the ethereal sounds, the piano, the synth, the halo-like choir Gregorian chant vibes. Its so good.
Now, Illusion of Forever is where the album length really starts to affect my listening session. Nothing really against this song, but it really seemed more appropriate to end a record with something like this than just the chapter. Considering Chapter 2 ended with a 7 minute track, it is good to see and hear that this is shorter at 3:49 minutes. Honestly its good, but not a real standout, especially after Masquerade.Chapter 4 / Modern Love Stories
We have arrived at the beginning of the end of this musical odyssey. And what better way to end things than with a song named Finale? One thing I can say is that it does brighten the vibe up and prime to finish this record. Cute synths and a nice beat carry this song over for me. All this with the woozy processed vocals too create a nice atmosphere.
One thematic instrument on this album that I’ve come to really appreciate is Beach House’s use of the acoustic guitar. The Belles is another luscious ballad with excellent guitar. Fits the mood and the vibe perfectly especially for the end of this album. The electric guitar that kicks in at the end is just so fucking exquisite. Its just so excellent. So catchy too. Great great great track.
Hurts to Love is the 2nd single from this album, and while it is still good I can’t help we’re going back to the well for the end here in a way. The fatigue is probably getting to me at this point though so I’m not sure if I’m ambivalent over this song because of that or if these same ideas were executed better, earlier on the album.
Many Nights is also another redundant track for me here. With a chapter that had some great slow songs, this one starts to drag after a while for me. Just does not really go anywhere. I get it, but yeah I could’ve done without this one personally.
AND FINALLY, We end on Modern Love Stories. To be completely honest, I am glad this album is coming to an end here as it was quite the journey. This is not another special song and to be honest, this record had much better ending songs on the other chapters that I think could’ve perfectly fit here. Its not awful, but its like not really special. It marks all the checkboxes for Beach House, but yeah its just kinda there and then the record ends.
So there it is. This one sprawling epic album, with arpeggios and crescendos out the goddamn wazoo. Towards the end of my first two listening sessions, I knew this was going to be a huge challenge. Its hard to differentiate a lot of the material here as it can kinda run together and sound so similar. Breaking it down by chapters was definitely the right move here from the band, but as I go through it I think they overindulged themselves on this. While the pacing hurts and the length hurts, it doesn’t mean the album is bad though. This is some of the best stuff I’ve heard from Beach House in forever and I think they have finally refined this sound. With Beach House now finally entering this stage of their career, I hope Beach House’s next projects are just a bit more focused and tight.
But yeah this was a challenge. Its 84:28 minutes long and you feel it. Hoo boy you will feel it.
PONCHIS VERDICT: 8/10
-
ponchis