In Defense Of Beach House...

So this post was inspired by a great tweet from GW in DC, grumping about not 'getting' certain new music. I caught it on a long drive, and filed it away, laughing because pretty much 3/4 of what i listen to doesn't pass muster w/my peers, and that's ok, I'm totally used to it. His other case in point, (Sleigh Bells), i totally agree with, and just file under 'Of Montreal' in terms of ambition overstepping execution.

But it stuck with me, and now i'll spit it out, not that Beach House need any defending, (let alone from me...).

The dream pop duo from Baltimore has truly come into their own this year, backing up the haunting 'Teen Dream' with extensive touring.

The quick, tongue in cheek answers that jumped to mind were:
1) drug music for people who don't do drugs anymore
2) best white 'boudoir' album since Roxy Music's 'Avalon'
3) very definition of 'grower', a song cycle in an age weighted against the very existence of albums with melodies like tentacles...

I was wary before its release, heralded by a wave of internet hype...call it the 'Animal Collective' response, but anything paraded as the record of the year before it's released, or two weeks into the new year, is just not cool.
After buying it, i dug the first few listens, but didn't really connect until catching it on the back leg of my commute, sick and feverish and shivering through a long drive home. Cranked up to the point of pain, it was like being immersed in a giant bath of Benadryl...
And with all the good stuff that's come out this year, I still find myself going back to it, now almost halfway through the year...simply put, it fits my definition of a great record, which has nothing to do with genre, speed, beat, or really anything...It just Makes Things Better.


(thx to Gordon in DC for putting up w/me...)