Additional information
It's easy for artists in any medium to be seduced into believing their latest project must be more elaborate than what came before. On Depression Cherry, however, Beach House reject the notion that bigger is inherently better. Where Bloom took their crystalline dream pop to lavish heights, these songs revisit the simpler approach of Beach House and Devotion. While it's a bold choice, the results are delicate: even by Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand's standards, these songs are remarkably poignant and insular. Throughout the album, the duo conjures a feeling of intimacy surrounded by vastness, with "Space Song"'s arpeggiated keyboards suggesting stars shooting through an endless sky. Beach House's return to the unabashedly artificial sound of their early albums is a potent reminder of how well they contrast with Legrand's lush, empathetic vocals; on "Bluebird," she sings "I would not ever try to capture you" over a busy rhythm that calls attention to how clunky and mechanical it is. Her ability to sound at once comforting and heartbreaking on the bookends "Levitation" and "Days of Candy" speaks to the sensuous nature of Depression Cherry's, and Beach House's, melancholy; it's like a flavor or color that can be savored, even in its simplest incarnations. Scally and Legrand reintroduce some of Bloom's fullness on "PPP" -- which almost sounds like it was produced by Phil Spector compared to the rest of the album -- and "Sparks," which with its dense keyboards and cooing vocal harmonies could be a collaboration between Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine. Elsewhere, the influence of the duo's more recent work is more subtle, revealing itself in the sophisticated minimalism of songs such as "10:37." While it may not be as immediately inviting as Bloom or Teen Dream, Depression Cherry is more than just an admirable exercise in challenging conventional notions of success. It's a grower that demands and rewards close listening -- especially under headphones, where it unfolds like a spell cast just for the listener. ~ Heather Phares
Reviews
Rolling Stone - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Throughout the album, Legrand's lyrics conjure vivid experience. 'Sparks' considers a brilliant hallucination that cruelly disappears -- but which it might be possible to reclaim through love, or art." Spin - "DEPRESSION CHERRY remains the purest picture of serenity, or at least austerity, its twin emotion of opiated gravity." Entertainment Weekly - "Singer Victoria Legrand has a refreshingly unshowy croon that's one of the most seductive in pop, and her gorgeous synth drones and guitarist Alex Scally's effects-laden riffs are exquisite." -- Grade: A- Paste (magazine) - "The songs are still plenty lush, wrapping Legrand's sleepy voice in gauzy synthesizer drifts adorned here and there with languorous stabs of guitar." Pitchfork (Website) - "Their music explores the sadness of pleasure, and the pleasure of sadness, and with each record they deepen this inquiry a little more." Clash (Magazine) - "Closer `Day Of Candy' boasts spacey keys suitably takes you blissfully upward and into a realm of pure chill..."
