It List: Wednesday

Beach House | Washed Out (Granada)

Beach House I want so much to like you. Contrary to some of my non-blogger friend's beliefs I don't dislike things just because they become too popular or relatively mainstream. These friends seem to have no other reason for my indifference towards Beach House other than cultural elitism. On the surface Beach House seem like a perfect match for me for it is no secret that I have a penchant for moody indie pop. Unfortunately I have been disappointed with Beach House ever since I saw them live alongside a very sparse audience at Hailey's a few years ago. It was a pretty boring show which sadly matched my expectations after giving their self titled a couple quick listens. Beach House make some pretty non offensive yet slightly left of center indie rock. This is the stuff American Apparel hoodies are made of.

I will admit that Teen Dream has some very lovely moments, especially early on but by the time Lover of Mine kicks in I can no longer distinguish one song from another. The whole affair gets very bland very quickly. Much like last year's darlings Grizzly Bear, Beach House holster one set of tricks that they execute over and over. The plucking guitar, the lurching organ and Victoria Legrand's vocals which shows little range or personality from song to song. Teen Dream is not a difficult album to listen to, in fact it's a very passive one. Repetitive and anti-climatic. After the third listen I was asking myself what else this album had to offer and I came up dry. Trust me I know that I am in the minority on this one but I hope to offer a voice for the voiceless amongst the hipster blog-o-sphere.

Frankly there are artist today in the same musical spectrum as Beach House that I enjoy more. Please feel free to disagree with me as I offer some examples. The new JJ album has a very similar feel to this one and while it might not have a cozy sound like Teen Dream it has way more personality and takes more risk. I had a feeling I was going to be greatly let down by the new High Places after not liking the last album as much as the previous singles but High Places vs. Mankind is really impressive and effectively expands on their sound, unlike Teen Dream which sounds purely like a step forward production wise. So since you missed out on tickets for this sold out show you should buy the aforementioned albums, or just put on one of your parents Fleetwood Mac albums.

Bone Thugz-N-Harmony (House of Blues)

This is going to be much more entertaining fun than Beach House. See ya at the crossroads.

Les Claypool (Lakewood Theatre)

I wish there were more classy shows like this at the Lakewood, such an awesome theater waisted on things like second rate burlesque shows.