Despite the melancholic title of Beach House’s latest album — Depression Cherry — listeners will likely find themselves floating on the clouds of this duo’s melodies.
Released Aug. 28, Depression Cherry impresses with its eerie lyricism and bewitching instrumentation. While it tends to move at a slow pace, discreetly beckoning its victims into the unknown, the duo’s fifth album is worth the journey.
With its strange but inviting sounds, Beach House’s latest is not a big departure from their signature dream-pop sound championed in their self-titled first album. But the duo’s latest production likely highlights escapism, rather than the intensity found in albums like their third, Teen Dream.
But Depression Cherry still represents the band’s desire to remain in the background, despite artists Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand’s rise to the top of the indie-music charts.
“We just want people to hear the music and try to not have there be a hype,” Scally said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun.
The Baltimore artists have previously refrained from basking in the limelight, turning down offers to perform at larger venues. But ultimately, this attitude leads the band to make beautiful, raw music that a desire for fame doesn’t corrupt.
“I’ll be grateful for any type of longevity,” Legrand said in the same interview. “That’s the ultimate goal.”
Legrand’s melancholic lyricism is beautiful and otherworldly. In one of the album’s highlights, “Sparks,” Legrand sings, “From the spine rising through the mind, you’re back again.”
In “Beyond Love,” Legrand coaxes an unknown lover: “I’m gonna tear off all the petals from the rose that’s in your mouth.”
The surreal lyrics are encapsulating, making up for the downtempo. She draws out each line, allowing her to reveal to listeners her ambiguous purpose.
But while the lyricism is flawless, the way Legrand displays it is unimaginative. She flips back and forth melodically every couple lines, a pattern she rarely strays from.
While almost always smooth, Scally’s instrumental style again shows his inkling for vigor in Depression Cherry. In songs like “Levitation,” his synths build with such gradualism one doesn’t realize their immense power until the song’s last moments. Unsurprisingly, his guitar riffs are bewitching.
When taken individually, each song’s melody entrances. But as a whole, the album tends to sound the same due to a restricted range of notes.
Despite the band too heavily milking a sound similar to previous albums, Depression Cherry remains a calming escape from reality. Some of the lyrics speak of being lost in space, or lost in one’s own mind — just try not to get lost too long in the album.
