The Review - Beach House Depression Cherry

We received new music from The Weeknd, Foals, Destroyer, Motorhead, Yo La Tengo, Tijuana Panthers and Beach House. This week I’ve decided to go with Beach House, but at the time of writing this I have listened to about half of the above and would recommend giving the Foals, Destroyer and The Weeknd all a listen. Foals seem to be getting better with each new release.

Beach House and their album Depression Cherry is another beautiful offering from the band that have made a habit of delivering atmospheric pop. The band is a duo made up of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. Combined their vocals compliment the breezy romantic pop music I’ve come to really like over the past few records. The striking difference here on Depression Cherry (and it hits you right away on track 2 ‘Sparks’) is a more prominent and up front guitar sound. With that said, it’s still a Beach House record so those guitars aren’t over-powering but are definitely more there then previous efforts, Bloom & Teen Dream.

This is easily a band you could dismiss as too mellow or with not enough of progression through songs. But that would be a mistake. As with the previous albums, Depression Cherry does a really good job setting an atmospheric sound and carrying you through it for the next 45 minutes. In a word it’s stunning. Its simple nature makes it endearing and worth repeat listening. There are layers within the songs and you get the feeling that the artist as put a lot of thought, care and attention into how these songs are crafted and weaved through the album.

I’m currently keeping a rolling list of the Best albums that are released in 2015. If it’s any indication on how much I enjoy Depression Cherry, look no farther than it’s inclusion on this Best Of list.

5 tracks you should listen to NOW:

Beach House ‘Sparks’. A stand-out from Depression Cherry and shows the band isn’t comfortable laying back staying within the same sound.

A$AP Rocky featuring Rod Stewart, Miguel & Mark Ronson ‘Everyday’. The sample from Rod Stewart works brilliantly here.

Keith Richards ‘Substantial Damage’. Yeah the vocals are rough (hey it’s Keith after all) but at this point he’s doing it for the fun and this song captures that. Hear it here via Apple Music https://itun.es/ca/iqOI9?i=1032487954

Foals ‘What Went Down’. It kicks off their latest (and awesome) new alubm What Went Down. Come for this track, stay for the rest of the album.

The Weeknd ‘Tell Your Friends’. Lyric content aside, the beat Kanye put up for this track could stand alone with no vocals.