Beach House are staying in the shadows with their new LP.
PerfecT Moments Beach House discus s their new album ‘ D e p r e s s i o n C h e r r y ’, a n d t h e m a g i c o f i d e a s . W o r d s : D a n n y W r i g h t.
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each House’s Victoria Legrand is midway through talking about the genesis of the songs on new album ‘Depression Cherry’. Suddenly, Sigur Rós comes blaring through the speakers.
It takes Alex Scally, the other half of the Baltimore band, by surprise. “That was just so intense. I feel like we’re in this moment in an epic movie,” he lifts his arms up dramatically. “And it’s like ‘When the song was born’ and there’s a baby coming out, with light shining through the window.” Victoria looks at him and laughs, “I’m glad we had that moment together.” The idea of ‘moments’ is something that both keep referring to. Not big, dramatic moments, but natural, smaller moments of clarity which guide their music. Just take the title of the new album. “It was a crazy moment – these two words just worked next to other immediately,” Victoria explains. “I feel literally saying ‘depression cherry’ just makes sense for the record.” It’s been three years since their last album ‘Bloom’ and something in the beating heart and beautiful simplicity of ‘Depression Cherry’ suggests a band re-invigorated. This can partly be explained by the six-month break they took after touring. “I think it was the first breath we’d taken since Beach House started,” says Alex. Victoria nods: “I just needed a couple of months of not doing anything.” The chance to take stock saw them push against ‘Bloom’, an album which, in retrospect, didn’t come as naturally to them. “When we played the ‘Bloom’ songs on the road… there was a transparent feeling, they didn’t feel as nuanced.” Alex pauses. “I don’t know… anything I say is going to sound stupid.”
“It’s one of the most beautiful moments when something flies out of nowhere.” - Victoria Legrand
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Victoria steps in. “I just think those songs are what they were – they happened for a reason and we can never regret that reason. We wouldn’t have ‘Depression Cherry’ if we didn’t go as far as we did with certain things on ‘Bloom’.” And so they return to this idea of moments. “We have a respectful, awestruck relationship with how an idea comes about – it’s one of the most beautiful moments when something flies out of nowhere,” explains Victoria. What goes hand in hand with that is a rejection of everything that isn’t connected to the creative process – the press release talks about ‘ignoring the commercial context in which we exist’. “With bands now there’s so much stuff to think about which has nothing to do with artistic creation at all, like social media presence… And all of those things are terrible for creativity.” Beach House’s new album ‘Depression Cherry’ will be released on 28th August via Bella Union. DIY