There are very few pop songs that you could continually enjoy listening to for 40 minutes, but Beach House’s “Lazuli” is one of them. I’m attesting to this statement because I did just that on my morning commute and it definitely improved the drones of the railroad. Comprised of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, the Beach House duo has been making streams of music since 2004, performing at festivals like Coachella and Pitchfork, but it is their recently-released album Bloom that aptly displays their talent and gives truth to their genre: dream pop.
Be it the atmospheric quality of Scally’s slide guitar or Legrand’s echoic vocals and organ playing, their music thrusts you into a state of tranquility even in the most chaotic places. Legrand was brought up in Philadelphia but born and educated in France, while Alex Scally hails from Baltimore, creating a passionate Euro-American sound. Legrand belts out every word of this beautifully-written piece, with each part so intricately woven into the song that you’ll find yourself anxious to hear the next part, trying to grasp the meaning behind such lyrics as “Like no other you can’t be replaced.” The music’s soothing ability negates the baggage that drives the songs sentiments. It is an ongoing enigma that is definitely worthy of a trip home from work as well as the ride there.