Beach House have just released their newest single Sparks, off their upcoming fifth album Depression Cherry, which will come out on the 28th of August this year. The song marks an important moment for duo, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, as despite working together for over ten years, they have never felt like they were being more true to themselves.
Beach House have been on a bit of a musical roller coaster throughout their career. From humble beginnings in dream pop they began to develop a sound that was bolder and much more confronting. They later admitted that this was partly due to their rise to fame. With the success of Teen Dream and Bloom, the artists began to draw a bigger crowd and naturally started creating music with louder, more aggressive instrumentals. While at the time the changes were organic, the pair explained in a recent press release that in doing so they were pushed further away from their natural musical tendencies. In Sparks and the rest of Depression Cherry, Beach House lets go of public expectations.
The instrumentals in Sparks are paired back and mellow. The grainy guitar feedback is still there, but it’s far softer on the ears. Vocals are sweet and synthy, gradually building to an incredible intensity. It’s ironic that while most artists would be starting to fade after ten years and five albums of collaboration, Beach House, in some ways, is only just beginning.