Beach House

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...

Influences

Some music outlets have also compared Legrand's vocals to 1980s psychedelic rock vocalist Kendra Smith of the band Opal. The group's influences include the Zombies, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Big Star, and Chris Bell. In 2021, Beach House named My Bloody Valentine's m b v (2013) as their favorite album in the last 25 years, stating that it was "worth the long wait after Loveless". Beach House re-recorded British folk trio Tony, Caro and John's song, "Snowdon Song," for their debut studio album, renaming it to "Lovelier Girl" and modifying its original arrangements. The song was released on the band's self-titled album with no given attribution to the trio. Initially, Tony Dore of Tony, Caro and John stated, "I haven't seen much yet in terms...

Legacy

Beach House's music has been sampled by prominent hip-hop and R&B artists. In 2011, The Weeknd sampled "Master of None" and "Gila" in his songs "The Party & the After Party" and "Loft Music," respectively. Kendrick Lamar sampled "Silver Soul" for his hit "Money Trees." The rap group G-Side sampled "10 Mile Stereo" in their song "How Far."

Space Song

"Space Song" is a song by American dream pop duo Beach House from their fifth studio album, Depression Cherry (2015). It was released as the album's sole promotional single on August 28, 2015.

Release

"Space Song" was released as the third track on Beach House's fifth studio album, Depression Cherry, on August 28, 2015, through Sub Pop. It also served as the album's sole promotional single, which released the same day.

Critical reception

"Space Song" received generally positive reviews from music critics. For Pitchfork, Jayson Greene labeled the song a "sweeping mid-album highlight", writing that "it registers as exactly the sort of high-flown Romantic soliloquy [Legrand's] always preferred." Heather Phares of AllMusic described it as a moment where Beach House "conjures a feeling of intimacy surrounded by vastness", with "arpeggiated keyboards suggesting stars shooting through an endless sky". In a more mixed review, NME's John Calvert disregarded the song as "essentially the same old Beach House aesthetic disguised as a retro-futurist ballad (think OutKast’s 'Prototype' with less Prince and more Neutral Milk Hotel)."

In popular culture

"Space Song" became a sleeper hit after going viral on TikTok in early 2021. According to Spotify for Artists, it is used "as a way to show dramatic irony – emphasis on the dramatic."

Myth

"Myth" is a song by American dream pop duo Beach House. The song was released on March 7, 2012, through Sub Pop, on the band's website, as the lead single for the band's fourth studio album, Bloom.

The song was written and produced entirely by the duo, along with co-production from Chris Coady, and was recorded in 2011 at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, as with the rest of its accompanying album.

Background and release

In 2009, Beach House began working on their third studio album, Teen Dream, when they eventually signed a label contract with Sub Pop, departing from Carpark Records, where they released their first two studio albums. Aside from the entire album being leaked on the internet that same year, it was released officially on January 26, 2010, through Sub Pop, garnering universal acclaim among several contemporary music critics. On March 7, 2012, the band released a new song on their website, titled "Myth," as a free download. The song was also posted onto the band's Twitter page. The next day, the duo officially announced their fourth studio album, Bloom, additionally confirming "Myth" as its lead single and opening track.

Composition

"Myth," was written on October 24, 2011. Like the rest of the tracks from Bloom, it was recorded within a seven-week period that same year at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. It was additionally mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The song's title originated from the word "Myths" being written on Legrand's notebook, with nothing else written, with her additionally stating that the song "is a beautiful journey of what it takes to make something and to create something, and the vastness of that".

Reception and legacy

Upon initial release, "Myth" received universal acclaim from contemporary music critics. An author from Billboard gave the song 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that it is "the sonic equivalent of comfort food — a savory buffet spread of the musical trademarks the group has already perfected elsewhere". Ace Ubas from Beats Per Minute rated it a 9 out of 10, complimenting its instrumental arrangement and concluding with, "This is Beach House at their best and shows that they look to top Teen Dream". It was chosen upon release as "Best New Track" by Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork, who wrote, "What sets 'Myth' as another sonic evolution for Beach House, then, is all in the details." Fitzmaurice continues by saying, "The layers of echo surrounding...