Review: Beach House's "Teen Dream"

Beach House
Album: “Teen Dream”
Label:Sub Pop
Occasionally the buzz surrounding a band starts becoming more important than the music itself, and that’s exactly the problem with Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House’s newest album “Teen Dream.” Receiving rave reviews from Pitchfork and almost a daily mention on the biggest indie blogs (like Gorilla vs. Bear); “Teen Dream” fails to deliver.
The album is the third endeavor of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, who formed Beach House in 2004. While “Teen Dream” is carefully and beautifully constructed, the tracks lack variety and energy, which can occasionally feel monotonous. At times, the duo seems to be doing more woolgathering than groundbreaking.
The album starts out well enough with the shimmering single “Zebra.” The tempo manages to lilt between happiness and depression, with Legrand’s voice floating lazily above the Scally’s background guitar. Legrand’s husky, echo-drenched harmonies are engaging with a daydreaming quality that makes them feel sincere. Things continue smoothly as the key-bending guitar in “Norway” adds an unexpected change of pace. The breathy chants invoke the soundtracks of lost CW shows of yore, and Legrand’s overlying synth fleshes the track out.
Before things mellow out too much, the album peaks with “Walk in the Park”, an ethereal journey that could soundtrack any daydream with its metallic tinkling and organic lushness. Legrand’s oddly androgynous voice summons images of stone trolls and fjords, betraying her Norwegian roots. As it fades out, it leaves a feeling of contentment.
While those are definitely single-worthy tracks, the remaining songs fail to break from the album’s already established patterns and the formula begins to lose its charm. Songs like “Better Times” and “10 Mile Stereo” seem derivative and unnecessary. It’s always a bad sign when an album stops being interesting halfway through.
The problem with being the hottest indie band of the moment is that style often becomes more important than substance. While Beach House is definitely not lacking the former, “Teen Dream” quickly tires, leaving the listener bored and ready to get back to reality. While Beach House will most likely gain popularity and praise for “Teen Dream”, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the sentiment of many listeners towards the album mirrored the lyrics in “A Walk in the Park” - “In a matter of time, it would slip from my mind”.
3/5