Review: Beach House - Bloom

This album review was originally written for Beat magazine, and published in print and online, where it was featured as 'Album of the Week.' It is reproduced here in its entirety

Beach House - Bloom (Sub Pop, 2012)

There’s a brutally efficient way to summarise the Baltimore duo’s fourth LP, and while labelling it as Teen Dream 2 is perhaps not an unsurprising summary, it unfairly underlines a ‘if it ain’t broke’ mentality that betrays Beach House’s characteristically organic craftsmanship.

Naturally Bloom’s predecessor was the pair’s breakthrough album, critics and fans alike flocking to the most accessible evocation of their gently nostalgic dream pop yet, besotted by its beauty and brilliance. Fashioning a sequel that matches its slow-burn appeal, Bloom is more of a casual extension of Teen Dream’s successes than a daring artistic leap. But again, that takes nothing away from its haunting effect and unfussy vividness.