Beach House's dream pop fantasy seduces the Music City crowd

I have not had a long love affair with Beach House. Their 2010 breakthrough, Teen Dream, caught my attention, certainly. At the time, I felt Victora Legrand sounded pretentious, and the sound was a bit too thin. That changed, obviously; Bloom is what made me a fan. Deep and expansive are two descriptors you'll hear thrown around often in any discussion of what makes the Baltimore duo's latest offering so captivating. Saturday night at Marathon Music Works, they showed us why.

Victoria Legrand empowers you to drift away into a synth covered dreamland.

This was my first trip to Marathon Music Works, being one of Nashville's newer music venues. It was a great experience, except the crowd was slightly more obnoxious than usual. There was a little throng right next me who insisted on loudly babbling all throughout the set of opener Dustin Wong. Before he came out, one guy kept hollering about when this "William Hung guy" was coming on. Nothing like a stereotype to start your evening. Never understood why people come to a show and just babble on the whole time. If you want to talk, go to a bar. Everyone else is here to see a show and you're totally distracting. So sit down and shut up. You're not nearly as important as you think you are.

That aside, Wong did an admirable job. A scan of his bio on the venue's site reveals that he at least has the right influences - Jimi Hendrix, Brian Wilson, and Brian Eno. His set was predicated upon densely layered tape loop playbacks. Typically playing on his lower strings, his guitar emitted shrieking, high pitched lead work. Because much of his performance was based around the tape loops, his playing tended to be sporadic.

When he really hit a groove, however, his fingers flew across the fretboard in a dizzying manner that made his talent undeniable. He also sprinkled in a very rare instance of vocals, which ranged from quiet wordless chanting to pretty much shouting into the microphone. He did seem a bit more conscious of audience suggestion than most performers I have seen; whenever somebody would whoop and holler for him a slight grin would light up his face. When he was done he received a grand sendoff, though I couldn't tell if the crowd really liked him that much or if they were just that plastered.

Dustin Wong lets loose with a silent shriek of ecstasy during a crazed solo.

Thankfully, everybody decided to shut up for Beach House. Their setlist understandably focuses on their two latest records, Teen Dream and Bloom, but they've typically done an admirable job of at least touching on material from their lesser known albums. The biggest evolution is that they've moved away from being obviously electronic based and have now authored a much more organic sound that uses electronics to supplement it. Guitarist Alex Scally creates hypnotizing melodies and shifting rhythms that perfectly complement Legrand.

Her deep, husky voice was on full display on set opener "Wild," but on the whole her voice sounded a little higher and more honey sweet than I expected. Yet she still has the type of booming voice needed to deliver the big, anthemic choruses that are so essential to their sound, evidenced by her "I"LL TAKE CARE OF YOOOOUUUU" on "Take Care." The melodies and hooks are strong enough to make each song magnetizing and engaging, while the lushness of the instrumentation creates a spellbinding, even exotic flair. On "Myth," for example, Scally starts with captivating guitar lead recalling the tradition of the Cocteau Twins, while finishing with a hazy tremolo solo.

Another area Beach House excels is in setting an atmosphere. Light shows and smoke machines are nothing new, but the way the smoke and lights shroud them and obscure their visages makes them seem more grand. And it was fortunate that the sound was excellent, allowing every little flourish and nuance of their sound to truly leap out at you. In terms of pure immersion, it's hard to find an act much better than Beach House.

Beach House's Bloom captures dream pop's overpowering essence

Sometimes when I listen to music I see colors, although typically it's just whatever color the album art is. I've mentally tinted Jack White's Blunderbuss with a dark blue shade, while Fiona Apple's latest bears the tan and light brown hue of a brand new bookshelf. So imagine what an album like Beach House's Bloom does to a mind like mine.

When listening, I picture myself swimming through an ocean darker than a night sky with thousands of white dots floating all around. It's like being a jellyfish in an exhibit at the Tennessee Aquarium. Rarely has an artist crafted a sound so deep and expansive as what Beach House has put forth here.

Multi-instrumentalist Alex Scally builds the backbone of the band's sound with dreamy guitar washes and lushly melodic keyboard rhythms, while Victoria Legrand commands the listener's attention with a voice that is majestic, graceful and soothing. Whenever I listen to her, I tend to picture her in royal purple robes wearing a crown and pointing a scepter in my direction.

It quickly becomes clear that the duo have made big improvements since 2010's Teen Dream, a record I was honestly never able to get into. It felt like it wandered, took too long to make its point, and sounded rather thin. No such issues exist on Bloom. The hooks are much stronger, the sound is deeper, and the effect is more pronounced.

"Myth" opens with a shimmering guitar pattern that sets the stage for Legrand's reverb tinged vocal, which sounds dynamic enough to absorb the whole world. The tremolo guitar solo that closes the track is one of the most brilliant musical moments this year.

The ball keeps rolling on "Wild," whose ominous verses are offset by its ethereal, floating chorus. It's helped out by a fantastic bridge section. It contains only a single synthesizer note backed by the pounding of the drums, while Legrand's voice floats up like mist from a cauldron.

Then ,of course, there is the lead single "Lazuli." This one takes a little longer to get started, but when wave after wave of vocal overdubs hits near the end of the song, the effect is simply mistifying.

Speaking of which, the entire album has a habit of building up to really nice endings. "On the Sea" begins as a simple piano ballad, but as it nears its close it introduces an extra keyboard layer and tremolo guitar strumming to establish a more dreamlike effect. I haven't heard a band this good at closing out songs since Interpol on their exceptional debut Turn on the Bright Lights.

Another plus with the album is its consistency; it never loses steam or begins to drag. "New Year" is as serene as an early morning trek along the shores of Maryland. "Other People" astounds with its sense of intimacy, and closer "Irene" is overpowering with its late 80s Cocetau Twins post punk sensibilities. Legrand's coos of "It's a strange paradise" will find a permanent place within your dreams.

The greatest works of art, no matter the medium, are those who build vast worlds to get lost in. Beach House have done more than simply craft songs; they have created a force that literally sounds like it is trying to take over your speakers and make you come along. Once you've climbed into the world of Bloom, I'll be damned if you get an urge to leave anytime soon.

Score: 94/100