Beach House — Once Twice Melody — Album Review
Electronic | Indie
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
I think a fun way to start this review off with a little apparent factoid I had heard about the Baltimore indie duo Beach House; it is the favourite indie artist for many famous rappers, allegedly. I mean, we do have the sampling of their single “Silver Soul” in Kendrick Lamar’s hit song “Money Trees” after all.
Nevertheless, I had actually discovered Beach House before I mad that connection between the two aforementioned singles. It was back in 2018 in which Beach House had released their seventh and previous studio album, 7.
7 was one of those albums that I either reviewed, or I nearly did. But looking back on it now, songs like “Dark Spring”, “Lemon Glow”, and “Black Car” still ring with that sense of familiarity. From that project, and many others, there is no doubt that Beach House have continuously mastered an atmospheric and colourful indie sound.
But the album we will be focusing on, is their eighth studio project, which they have titled Once Twice Melody.
Now, the actual release of this album seems a bit unusual; in the sense that I’m not actually sure if it is meant to be officially out yet. With Spotify, I am easily able to listen to this album and all of its tracks. However, at the very bottom, it is labelled as a 2022 release. Along with this, Apple Music lists Once Twice Melody as a pre-release currently.
With that said, I’m just going to go ahead and treat this like a pre-release review. If this album changes in any way around early 2022, I will give this review a few tweaks.
Once Twice Melody was teased by a track of the same name. By the way this track sounded, in comparison to a project like 7, Beach House seem to veer toward an added implementation of acoustic elements; allowing the music to have a slight hint of Aldous Harding in there.
And while the title track (which fittingly serves as the albums opener as well) does still stand out from many of the others on the project, I could still sense Beach House trying to keep that aesthetic consistent, while not losing any of that electronic familiarity.
Based on the overall aesthetic of the album, it is very much that kind of music that listeners will get lost in. However, very much of it is hard to get a mental hold of due to its fluidity, and is perhaps overly ambient in parts. Once Twice Melody seems like a perfect kind of album to have on in the background. However, I would otherwise recommend a project like 7 if you are needing something with a bit more of a memorable punch.
What I feel also affects the memorability, is the time in which this album has been (supposedly) released. I feel that Once Twice Melody is much more of an album fit for the spring months, due to its uplifting yet sobering feel.
Nevertheless, this album does not fail to display just how intricate the duo’s compositions really are. It takes an insane amount of experience to pull of what Beach House do musically. And for that merit alone, Once Twice Melody stands as a well-crafted and artful piece.
Favourite Tracks: Once Twice Melody | Superstar | Through Me
Least Favourite Track: ESP
Bella Union
Enjoyment: 8/10 | Memorability: 6/10 | Atmosphere: 9/10
Uniqueness: 7/10 | Satisfaction: 8/10 | Narrative: 7/10
