Beach House

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Biography

Beach House is a dream pop duo formed in 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland , consisting of French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally. Their self-titled debut, Beach House (album)|Beach House , released in 2006, was critically acclaimed. This was followed by their second release, Devotion (Beach House album)|Devotion , in 2008. The band released their third studio album, Teen Dream in January 2010, also to positive critical reviews and commercial success.

History

Formation and first album

The band formed in 2004, composed of Alex Scally on guitar and keyboards and Victoria Legrand on vocals and organ. Beach House started out life as a recording project. Yet, rather than using multi-tracking to build 'grand' songs, they stuck to the simplicity of their set-up: organ, programmed drums, slide guitar. "It's a way to challenge ourselves: What do you do when it's just the two of you? " Legrand said, to Pitchfork. Offered Scally: "One of the reasons this has been such a fulfilling experience for me is that with two people, it's so much easier to achieve things that feel exciting and new."

The band's song "Apple Orchard" was featured on a Pitchfork Media mp3 mixtape in August 2006. In October 2006 their self-titled debut album, Beach House (album)|Beach House , was released on Carpark Records . It was listed as #16 in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2006.

Second album and other projects

Their second album, Devotion (Beach House album)|Devotion , was released on February 26, 2008. It was received with greater acclaim and also was included in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2008 list. On October 21, 2008, the group released the single " Used to Be ".

Beach House also contributed a cover of Queen (band)|Queen 's " Play the Game (song)|Play the Game " for the iTunes Store release of the Red Hot Organization 's 2009 compilation, Dark Was The Night .

In 2009, Legrand provided backing vocals on the song " Two Weeks (Grizzly Bear song)|Two Weeks " by the indie rock band Grizzly Bear (band)|Grizzly Bear . She would collaborate with the band again by providing vocals to "Slow Life", the band's contribution to the The Twilight Saga: New Moon (soundtrack)|soundtrack for the film New Moon (2009 film)|Twilight: New Moon .

Third album

Teen Dream , the duo's 'dynamic and intense' third album, was released on Sub Pop on January 26, 2010. The album was released in the UK by Bella Union and in Mexico by Arts & Crafts. It contains a newer version of their 2008 single " Used to Be (Beach House single)|Used to Be ". " Norway (single)|Norway " was made available as a free download on the band's website on November 17, 2009; and promoted on iTunes as the Free Single of the Week starting January 12, 2010.
The album was produced and engineered by Chris Coady ( Yeah Yeah Yeahs , TV on the Radio , Grizzly Bear (band)|Grizzly Bear ).Pitchfork, , 20 October 2009. Accessed 25 January 2010. The album's unanimously good reviews have gained the band a much larger fan base, with Jay-Z and Beyoncé being spotted at their shows. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=DVoUqcWg_co& feature=related

Teen Dream was listed as #5 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2010-
:''Teen Dream did little to alter Beach House's core characteristics-- slow-motion beats layered with hazy keyboard drones, rippling guitar figures, and Victoria Legrand's melancholic melodies-- but greatly amplified them to the point of redefining the band's essence, from that of introverted knee-gazers into an assured, emotionally assertive force. --Stuart Berman

Style and Influences

The band is often labeled a " dream pop " band due to their slow, atmospheric rhythms and haunting lyrics. Singer Victoria Legrand's vocals have often been compared to those of Nico . The lead vocals of Beach House can be compared to 80's psychedelic rock vocalist Kendra Smith of Opal. Guitarist Alex Scally plays a Fender Stratocaster in an E? Tuning .

The group's influences include, This Mortal Coil , The Zombies , Brian Wilson , Françoise Hardy , Neil Young , Big Star (band)|Big Star and Chris Bell (musician)|Chris Bell .

Discography

Albums and EPs

Beach House (album)|Beach House (October 3, 2006), Carpark Records|Carpark

Devotion (Beach House album)|Devotion (February 26, 2008), Carpark Records|Carpark #195 US

Teen Dream (January 26, 2010), Sub Pop Records|Sub Pop #78 UK, #43 US

Singles & EPs

"Apple Orchard" (2006)

"Master of None" (2006)

"Heart of Chambers" (2008)

"Gila" (2008)

"You Came to Me" (2008)

"Used to Be" (2009), Carpark, #27 UK Indie Chart

"Norway" (2010), Bella Union

"Zebra" (2010)

Zebra EP ( Record Store Day|April 17, 2010 ), Sub Pop Records|Sub Pop

iTunes Session (August 24, 2010) Sub Pop Records|Sub Pop

"I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun" (2010)

Live Performances

The band has toured extensively.

In March 2009, the band was featured at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas

In April 2010, they played at the Coachella music and arts festival in Coachella Valley, CA

In June 2010, they overcame "technical difficulties due to too much MDMA " while playing a set on The Park Stage at Glastonbury. http://www.nme.com/news/nme/51691

In August 2010, the band joined Vampire Weekend on tour as one of their two opening acts, the other being the Dum Dum Girls .

In October 2010, Beach House played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival .

On December 20, 2010 the band performed on Conan (TV series)|Conan .

The band have been chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties festival that they will curate in May 2011, and also by Portishead (band)|Portishead to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival that they will curate in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace.

On May 29, 2011 the band played at the Sasquatch& #33; Music Festival .

On October 16, 2011, the band played at the Treasure Island Music Festival .

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
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