Bloom (Beach House album)

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Untitled

Bloom is the fourth studio album by Baltimore-based dream pop duo Beach House, which was released on May 15, 2012. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week.[1]

Recording and release

The album was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, and was co-produced by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead), who also produced the band's previous album Teen Dream.[2] Beach House chose to record in west Texas after being captivated by the area while resting there during a tour.[3] Bloom was mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[2] The album took seven weeks to record.[4]

Victoria Legrand described the album's title as an "abstraction of many feelings". Legrand continued:

"To find a word or a set of words we felt curated the whole thing, Bloom was it. And it was based off of feeling and just a belief in the word. It actually has more weight for me than it has an ethereal quality. It came about where it made sense. [...] For things to feel right, it definitely has to sit for a while and I think that's why it's not ethereal for me. I associate that word with fleeting or not having any substance, I don't know. [...] I'm just saying that for us there's a certain intensity with this record, and I think the word "bloom" is an attempt at that."[4]

The first song released from Bloom, "Myth", was posted on Beach House's website on March 6, 2012.[5] On March 8, 2012, the album's release date was announced.[6] A second song from the album, "Lazuli", was released as a Record Store Day single on April 13, 2012.[7] On May 6, 2012, the album was streamed in its entirety on NPR Music.[8] On June 6, 2012, the music video for "Lazuli", directed by Allen Cordell, was released.[9] On March 19, 2013, the band released a music video for the track "Wishes." The video was directed by Eric Wareheim of comedy duo Tim and Eric.[10]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[12]
Alternative Press[13]
BBC Musicpositive[14]
Consequence of Sound[15]
The Guardian[16]
Drowned in Sound7/10[17]
NME7/10[18]
NOW3/5[19]
Pitchfork Media9.1/10[20]
PopMatters10/10[21]
Under the Radar8/10[22]

Bloom has received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 45 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[11] PopMatters' Zachary Houle gave the album a perfect score, writing, "[T]his is an album that is simply, in the most awe-inspired sense of the term, absolutely golden from end to end—a real treasure and an utter delight to experience every time you play it."[21] J. Pace of Under the Radar also praised the album, writing, "It's always a perfect pairing of nostalgia and wistfulness with these two [Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally], who serve up these completely affecting but somehow ethereal moods you can't quite put your finger on."[22] Pitchfork Media's Lindsay Zoladz gave the album a Best New Album designation, writing "Legrand's ethereal contralto huffs so much life into her lines that even lyrics that look plain on the page take flight. Throughout, Legrand and Scally sound in perfect sync: his nimble riffs punctuate her long, drawn-out notes to add depth and layered rhythm to the tracks."[20] Harley Brown of Consequence of Sound wrote "Bloom culminates six years and three albums of anticipatory ache with subtlety and meticulous song placement that unfolds if you let it", while BBC Music's Hari Ashurst called Bloom Beach House's "best work so far."[14][15]

Other reviews of Bloom were more mixed, though. Annie Zaleski of Alternative Press wrote "Their fourth album, Bloom, doesn't possess as many memorable hooks (or as many well-defined song structures) as their last album, 2010's Teen Dream. As a result, the record tends to fade into the background and become something so indistinct that it's forgettable, even after multiple listens."[13] Now's Benjamin Boles also gave the album a mixed review, writing "Bloom is consistent in quality, and there isn't a single bad song. It just feels like they spent too much time worrying about production and not enough time songwriting."[19] Maddy Costa of The Guardian criticized the album's lack of surprises, writing "Nothing happens to shatter the perfect surface, either within individual songs or across the album as a whole, and that might be Bloom's problem. It's beautiful, spectral, dreamy, but never makes your pulse quicken."[16]

The album was listed 27th on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.[23] Pitchfork Media ranked Bloom #7 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2012, writing: "since 2006's self-titled debut, Beach House have been patiently refining-- and expanding-- a singular, easily recognizable sound."[24] The album was listed at #28 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying "Languid lead singer Victoria Legrand has some dark stuff on her mind – mortality and ruin keep bubbling to the surface of the Baltimore act's fourth LP...But you'd hardly know it from the blissful way she lets her voice blend with the softly bobbing organ chords and arpeggiated guitars."[25] Rolling Stone also named the song "Other People" the 19th best song of 2012.[26]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Victoria Legrand; all music is composed by Legrand and Alex Scally

No.TitleLength
1."Myth"4:20
2."Wild"4:58
3."Lazuli"5:02
4."Other People"4:25
5."The Hours"4:07
6."Troublemaker"4:55
7."New Year"5:23
8."Wishes"4:40
9."On the Sea"5:32
10."Irene" (contains the hidden track "Wherever You Go" starting at 13:30)16:57

Personnel

Credits adapted from Bloom album liner notes.[27]

Beach House
  • Beach House – photography, producers
  • Victoria Legrand – vocals, arranger, keyboards, organ, piano
  • Alex Scally – arranger, backing vocals, bass, editing, guitar, keyboards, organ, piano, programming
Additional
  • Manuel Calderón – assistant engineer
  • Chris Coady – engineer, mixing, producer
  • Joe Cueto – viola (9)
  • Daniel Franz – assistant arranger, drums, percussion
  • Brooks Harlan – engineer
  • Phil Joly – assistant engineer
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Brian Roettinger – design

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[28] 40
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[29] 10
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[30] 55
Canadian Albums Chart[31] 16
Danish Albums Chart[32] 8
Dutch Albums Chart[33] 54
French Albums Chart[34] 59
German Albums Chart[35] 73
Irish Albums Chart[36] 10
Norwegian Albums Chart[37] 5
Portuguese Albums Chart[38] 10
Scottish Albums Chart[39] 23
Spanish Albums Chart[40] 22
Swedish Albums Chart[41] 34
Swiss Albums Chart[42] 33
UK Albums Chart[43] 15
UK Indie Albums Chart[44] 2
US Billboard 200[31] 7
US Alternative Albums[31] 1
US Independent Albums[31] 1
US Rock Albums[31] 3

References

  1. ^ Caulfield, Keith (May 23, 2012). "Adam Lambert Snags First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Colletti, Justin (May 17, 2012). "Behind The Release: Beach House Bloom". SonicScoop. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  3. ^ Lewis, John (May 14, 2012). "Beach House Interview: Black Widows, Motel 6, and Mysticism". Baltimore. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Paez-Pumar, Luis (May 14, 2012). "Q&A: Beach House's Victoria Legrand On Singles, The South, And Controlling Your Music". The Village Voice. Village Voice Media. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  5. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (March 6, 2012). "Listen: Beach House: "Myth"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  6. ^ Pelly, Jenn (March 8, 2012). "Beach House Confirm New Album, Tour". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  7. ^ Battan, Carrie (April 13, 2012). "Listen: Beach House: "Lazuli"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  8. ^ Katzif, Michael (May 6, 2012). "First Listen: Beach House, 'Bloom'". NPR Music. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  9. ^ Bort, Ryan (June 7, 2012). "Watch Beach House's Video for "Lazuli"". Paste. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "March 19, 2013". March 19, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Bloom - Beach House". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  12. ^ Phares, Heather. "Bloom – Beach House". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Zaleski, Annie. Beach House - Bloom. Alternative Press. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  14. ^ a b Ashurst, Hari. Beach House Bloom Review. BBC Music. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  15. ^ a b Brown, Harley. Album Review: Beach House – Bloom. Consequence of Sound. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  16. ^ a b Costa, Maddy. Beach House: Bloom – review. The Guardian. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  17. ^ Catling, Simon. Beach House - Bloom. Drowned in Sound. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  18. ^ Beach House - Bloom. NME.
  19. ^ a b Boles, Benjamin. Beach House - Bloom. NOW. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  20. ^ a b Zoladz, Lindsay. Beach House: Bloom. Pitchfork Media. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  21. ^ a b Houle, Zachary. Beach House: Bloom. PopMatters. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  22. ^ a b Pace, J. Beach House Bloom (Sub Pop). Under the Radar. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  23. ^ http://stereogum.com/1210661/stereogums-top-50-albums-of-2012/franchises/listomania/
  24. ^ The Top 50 Albums of 2012. Pitchfork Media. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  25. ^ 50 Best Albums of 2012. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  26. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2012-20121205/beach-house-other-people-19691231
  27. ^ Bloom (Media notes). Sub Pop. 2012. SP 965. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  29. ^ "Beach House – Bloom" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  30. ^ "Beach House – Bloom" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  31. ^ a b c d e "Bloom – Beach House". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  32. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  33. ^ "Beach House – Bloom" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  34. ^ "Beach House – Bloom" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  35. ^ "Beach House, Bloom" (in German). charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  36. ^ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 17 May 2012". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  37. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  38. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  39. ^ "2012 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  40. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  41. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  42. ^ "Beach House – Bloom". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  43. ^ "2012 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  44. ^ "2012 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.

External links

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