海滩小屋

Beach House is an American dream pop band formed in Baltimore in 2004, consisting of current members Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, drum programming), who both met in Baltimore's indie scene, and James Barone (drums, percussion, bass), who joined as an official member in 2022 after touring prominently with them since 2016. The band has been regarded by journalists and critics as rejuvenating the genre of dream pop for newer generations.

Prior to forming Beach House, Legrand and Scally met in Baltimore, and were members of another band, Daggerhearts, which disbanded in 2005 due to dysfunctionality. Thereafter, both decided to write music together, as their wish to form a band. They first gained international recognition in 2006, after their song "Apple Orchard" was featured on Pitchfork's Infinite Mixtape series, subsequently releasing their self-titled debut album in October of that year, through Carpark Records. They released their second studio album Devotion in February 2008, which became their first album to debut on the US Billboard 200 and their final release under Carpark. In 2009, they signed onto Sub Pop, which allowed them to promote their third studio album Teen Dream, which was released to critical acclaim in January 2010; it is often considered their breakthrough album.

They followed the success of Teen Dream by releasing their fourth studio album Bloom in May 2012, which was met with similar acclaim and commercially successful, peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200. They later released two albums in 2015; Depression Cherry was released in August and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, while Thank Your Lucky Stars was surprise-released two months later. The band shifted their musical style on their seventh album 7 (2018), after releasing a compilation album in 2017. The band gained more attention in 2021, after their 2015 promotional single "Space Song" went viral on social platforms, primarily TikTok. In February 2022, the band released their eighth studio album Once Twice Melody, which was released in four chapters starting November 2021.

History

2004–2007: Formation and self-titled album

In 2004, Victoria Legrand moved from her birthplace of Paris to Baltimore after being dissatisfied with theater school, and because a colleague who would play music with her at Vassar College, where she graduated from in 2003, was also living there. Through that same friend, Dirck, Legrand was introduced to Alex Scally later that year; they first met at the porch of Scally's family home and Legrand handed him a CD of music. By the second time they met, they began recording music at Legrand's basement. At around this time, they were both also members of a band called Daggerhearts, which would break up in 2005, due to dysfunctionality and a lack of musical direction. Despite the band's split-up, both Legrand and Scally would continue writing music together, wanting to form a band. He invited Legrand to his house to try a variety of organs he had used on 4-track recordings, kept in storage, and both of them got along well. Aside from creating music at the time, Scally worked with his father as a carpenter, while Legrand worked as a waitress at a Mexican restaurant.

The duo began recording their first album in 2005 in Scally's basement, which was recorded on a 4-track recording tape over a two-day period. The budget for recording the album was reportedly about $1,000. During a hangout, they wrote their first song, "Saltwater". They first performed at Baltimore's Talking Head Club on November 13, 2005, initially performing under the names Planetarium and Beach House on the Moon. They eventually shortened the latter to Beach House for brevity, a name which they say came from "House on the Hill," one of the songs they had written at the time. During these discussions, they also suggested plant-based names such as Wisteria, and other "stupid stuff". In an interview with Pitchfork, Legrand addressed their being a two-member status thus: "[I]t's a way to challenge ourselves: What do you do when it's just the two of you? ... [O]ne of the reasons this has been such a fulfilling experience for me is that with two people, it's so much easier to achieve things that feel exciting and new." On August 22, 2006, their song "Apple Orchard" was included as the 34th entry on Pitchfork's Infinite Mixtape series. On October 3, 2006, the band released their self-titled debut album, Beach House, through Carpark Records, and was met with positive reviews from critics. It was named the 16th best album of 2006 by Pitchfork.