Bloom

Beach House | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: May 15, 2012
• Release Date: May 15, 2012
• Label: Sub Pop Records
• Copyright: 2012 Sub Pop Records
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 1:00:28
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B007ZCQJOM
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Dream May 15, 2012

By Dr. Rock

Format:Vinyl

Like the album that preceded it, Bloom builds on Beach House's lyrical themes and musical style, evolving in a way that never compromises the band's sound. New, lush atmospheres are introduced and the recording quality is getting better with every release, but you could easily throw any song from Bloom into the same mix as any song from Devotion and they would sound great in succession. As in past reviews, I chose to review this album track-by-track. Some people are annoyed by this style of review and I respect that, so if you choose to stop reading, just know that this is likely the best album you will hear in 2012. Now, for those who are game to journey on...

Myth - With its simple programmed brush-brush-brush-cowbell intro, the band begins the album with a somewhat minimalist approach. From here, the instruments and vocals layer on and continue to build to an epic climax. From the first song, it is well understood that Beach House is back, and in top form. (10/10)

Wild - Of all the songs on this album, this one is likely the most nostalgic. The lyrics seem to tap into the same hazy territory that most of Teen Dream existed within. This time, the focus seems to be a conflicted father and the mistakes he possibly made. For this reason, Wild plays like a repressed memory. (9/10)

Lazuli - Released on Record Store Day on a limited 7" (which I missed by a long shot, thanks to my job), Lazuli is one of the singles. An arpeggiating synthesizer part carries the rhythm throughout this track, and like in "Myth," it lays the foundation. Bloom does not have any skip tracks to speak of, but this song needs time to grow on me. (6/10)

Other People - With each listen, this song gets better. The chorus might be the most infectious on the album. "Other people want to keep in touch." I find this line floating through my head at the most random times. (10/10)

The Hours - This is my absolute favorite song on the album. When Bloom leaked a few weeks ago, this was the only track that was an incomplete file, which only heightened my anticipation for the physical album release. Words cannot do it justice. (Also, if you downloaded the leak, make sure to support the band and buy the album!) (10/10)

Troublemaker - A slow burner, "Troublemaker" is this album's "Norway." Like in many Beach House songs, the chorus is where the song explodes with a passionate, melancholic burst of dreamy Beach Boys style guitar work. *For an interesting influence on this sound, check out "All I Wanna Do" by The Beach Boys on Youtube. You will be floored. (8/10)

New Year - Droning guitars are introduced along with a looping drum machine, which, when mixed together, lends itself to the sounds of My Bloody Valentine. With a faintly oriental melody in the chorus, this song is one of the faster songs on a reletively slow album. (6/10)

Wishes - It's hard to say what I find more emotional about this wistful song, Legrand's airy vocals or Scally's extremely precise lead guitar. Either way, it's straight out of a dream. (10/10)

On the Sea - Much like on Teen Dream's "Real Love," this song is Bloom's piano ballad. Like the title suggests, this song conjures up images of a taking to the sea, with its upbeat rollicking piano. This might be the closest Beach House has ever come to stepping out of their signature cloud of dreamy haze. (9/10)

Irene - A perfect album closer for an album that should go on forever, "Irene" is the band at its dreamy best. (10/10)

Like the strangely insular teenage landscape John Hughes created in his movies or the glowing nostalgic universe of The Wonder Years, Beach House has managed to imagine their own fragile world for all of us to get lost in. It's a strange paradise.

66 of 89 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Driftwood May 22, 2012

By Mark Eremite VINE™ VOICE

Format:MP3 Music

Amazon recommended this album because I liked both Yellow House by Grizzly Bear and Within & Without by Washed Out. In truth, the latter album hasn't grown on me so well. There are still times when I appreciate and feel enlivened by its ethereal aggressiveness, but I have listened to it less and less as time passes.

I have never heard of or listened to this group before. If you're a fan, you should read a different review. This is from the perspective of someone who tried something new based on a few good reviews and product cross-promotion.

Many reviews talk about the "lushness" of this album, which reminds me of the rave reviews that My Bloody Valentine or Mercury Rev got back in the day. "Lush" usually means "huge blocks of fuzzy sound," and while such things can be orchestrated well (Ulrich Schnauss, for instance), it just sounds lazy here. There's not the same kind of craft or detail to the sound as there is in Grizzly Bear. Other reviews describe Bloom's songs as being "dreamscapes," and I guess you could call them that, but things can still happen in dreams. Each of these songs, however, takes one musical idea and just cranks it around in a circle. The songs, about gentle, ephemeral, vague topics, don't have much to say, and they say them in inoffensive, angelic tones that never flirt with any interesting varieties.

Some might like this, but to me it sounds mostly like treading water. "Troublemaker" was the only song that seemed to have an interesting progression or tonality. The rest is vaguely repetitive and not particularly unique. It's well done, I suppose, if not a little overwrought, but just too dull to hold my interests. If you want the musical equivalent of waves lapping the beach in the background, an unobtrusive mural of soft noise, then I would recommend this album. If you want music that provides waves you can surf, you should look elsewhere.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ...another solid effort from Beach House May 17, 2012

By DK

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

I wouldn't expect anything less. While this album may not reach the same mainstream appeal as Teen Dream it is just as amazing. After the first listen I realized that I got lost in Victoria's haunting voice somewhere in the middle. I initially thought it wasn't as dynamic as their last but I have since changed my mind. It is a treat and also a task to listen from start to finish which is a credit to the production. I don't want to say that it gets better with every listen because it was brilliant from the start but it does have that signature Beach House hook. The sound quality of the vinyl is up there with some of my best sounding records. The 2 12-inch LP's are played at 45rpm which seems to add a noticeable depth to the music. I'm not an expert but I assume that the higher speed means the cartridge receives more information for a given time interval. It sounds so much better than the digital copy that is included. If you love Beach House then you probably don't need to be convinced but if you're looking for good music make the jump. Newcomers might warm up with Teen Dream then Bloom before Beach House and Devotion.