Beach House seems to be incapable of making bad music. Rolling onto the scene in 2006, the duo has blessed music fans with spellbinding tunes and enchanting lyrics for almost two decades.
Each album evolves upon the sound of its predecessor without losing the dreamy psychedelic core of Beach House. Their newest album, “Once Twice Melody,” is no different.
Throughout the album, glossy synths with a gothic twist are combined with Daft Punk-style robotic vocoders and drum loops that sound like that of a trap song. It might sound a bit alien to past Beach House fans, but those unique, unfamiliar sounds are never far from the Beach House essentials: namely, cryptic, sometimes even haunting, lyrics, wistful, progressive melodies and an all-consuming melancholy.
“Once Twice Melody,” a double LP, is split into four chapters with each chapter releasing a month apart. These chapters, along with the album cover, give the record a storybook feel; as if each song is a new page in a bittersweet fairy tale.
A story of romantic triumph and tragedy slowly pieces itself together with each new lyric. Lines like “Superstar’s“ “I see it now in this photograph/ Something good, never meant to last” or “New Romance’s” “My love drips in red out of my mind at the edge of the sky/ You feel your heart break and you don’t know why,” create a constant sensation of fleeting passion.
When Victoria Legrand isn’t serenading a lost lover, she dips into existential, cosmic themes about the place of love in the universe. The moon, stars and blooming flowers receive constant romanticization from the duo; a reminder of how all things, starlight and relationships included, must end.
“They’ll come at night to take her back/ Light each candle, here tonight, then gone forever,” Legrand sings on “Masquerade,” about the starlight. Or, take “One by one, they open/ Forever and ever/ All the little angеls descend,” off of “Over and Over” where the duo gently describes blossoming flowers and shooting stars.
Each romantic morsel about stargazing or strolling in the sunshine with a partner reflects the album’s beliefs in the eternal sunshine of love – even after that sun has set and only exists in our memory.
Soaring, melancholic production adds to “Once Twice Melody’s“ themes of lost devotion. Producer Alex Scally frequently shifts tracks from glossy, retro 80s synths with upbeat percussion to wailing guitars with trap-style beats and gothic synths, similar to MGMT’s ”Little Dark Age.”
“Once Twice Melody” manages to combine dream pop, shoegaze, psychedelic rock and gothic pop, creating mind-bending instrumental breaks that feel simultaneously nostalgic and unique.
Oftentimes, words are used more like instruments and tone-setters than actual lyrics. The hypnotic production always takes center stage with melodic breaks lasting much longer than lyrical sections. Atmospheric, supernatural music is all that matters. Why even bother with words when they can’t properly capture our sorrow and bliss?
On top of this record’s incredible music, the album’s four-month-long rollout also cements its masterpiece status. Each month four or five new tracks were released, slowly building up the themes and story while leaving fans eager for the finale. The songs also received their own stylized lyric video which expanded on the psychedelic fairy tale world of “Once Twice Melody.“
Each video is incredibly unique with gorgeous art and hypnotic animation. Styles like art nouveau and pop art were blended with kaleidoscopic and absurdist imagery to shape captivating visual treats that fully engrossed the viewers into Beach House’s world. The outdated, degraded media style of the videos bolsters the album’s themes of reflecting on past love and growing despite romantic failure.
Everything about Beach House’s “Once Twice Melody” is ravishing, lush and cinematic. Like all of Beach House’s incredible works, this record deserves its place among the stars.
