“Norway”
from the album Teen Dream
2010
iTunes
Just a year ago this Baltimore-based duo was squatting at an emotionally chilly latitude. Songs like “Gila,” from the group’s sophomore record Devotion, were driven onward only by the glacial ticking of a paper-thing drum machine and Victoria Legrand’s smoky voice. Had David Lynch required a house band to play in Twin Peaks’ Black Lodge, Beach House would have been a shoo-in.
But “Norway,” the lead track from Teen Dream, the duo’s Sub Pop debut, raises the temperature a few degrees. A percussive intro yields to an explosion of twinkling guitars and a chorus of woozy backing vocals. The core elements of Beach House’s sound — the drum machine, the thrift store keyboards — are still present; they’re just a few ticks faster. This makes a big difference. As it turns out, Beach House goes from dour to exuberant in just a few BPM.
Legrand, whose vocals have been saddled with Nico comparisons, can finally breathe a sigh of relief, too. The 1960s chanteuse’s shadow is nowhere to be found here. “You let us in the wooden house / To share in all the wealth,” sings Legrand over a carsick slide guitar riff. No, “Norway” is radiant with the sunshiny 70s pop vibes. It’s Stevie Nicks territory, for sure. Climate change has come to Beach House, and the weather suits them beautifully.