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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Always ones to shoot for the stars and then find out they were already living on one, Beach House’s new record 7, lives up to all the hype you can heap on it and more. 7 is massive and intimate, dense yet understandable, fresh yet classic.
100
After Bloom’s widescreen production almost pushed them into stadium territory, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have continued to amp up the melodies while retaining the band’s ASMR qualities, arguably culminating with Depression Cherry. While the latter wasn’t completely adored at a critical level, to me, it felt like they’d at least hit on the blueprint for a masterpiece. On 7, the Baltimore duo presents us with the completed architecture.
91
7 is the band’s darkest, messiest, and most varied album to date.
90
By taking familiar ideas and filtering them through new arrangements and effects, the band has taken their identity in their own hands and reshaped it into something intriguing again for their strongest album since Bloom.
90
Some artists hold the promise of a perfect album within them, one stroke of divinity that distils a lifetime’s output into something that could define their legacy. Beach House never felt like one of those bands to me, partly because they’d already soared so high, already peaked on a former glory. Nonetheless, the Baltimore duo have somehow gifted us their masterpiece, and though the rain outside has now stopped, new heavens have opened.
90
With 7, Beach House has done nothing to disturb their status as one of indie rock’s most consistent bands. They’ve done a whole lot, though, to demonstrate a willingness to reimagine what it is that Beach House can be.
90
Track-by-track, each song has its merits, building upon the last to create a completely enticing whole. And yes, 7 is a triumph, a record that might go down as the masterpiece of an already beloved band.
89
Beach House remain masters of the indefinable and their seventh album is their heaviest and most immersive-sounding of their career.
85
Teen Dream and Bloom will likely always remain the pair’s canonical entries, but by some margin, this is their most accomplished record to date and the latest proof that Beach House will go down as the finest, boldest and most singular dream pop act since the Cocteau Twins.
85
Beach House is reaching for the moon once more on the beloved Baltimore duo's most stimulating aural experience to date.
85
It’s safe to say that fourteen years of being on the road with heart and soul on constant improvement, determination, good taste and a clear mission statement are key factors to success. 7, Beach House’s seventh album is definitely not their approach to the finish line, but a positive view on what’s yet to come.
83
With its chemtrail vocals and dense layers of guitar haze, 7 is in no danger of derailing the band’s reputation as the reigning slow lorises of indie rock.
83
By retooling their sound and shaking off any complacency that may have settled in, Beach House make their claim as one of the preeminent indie rock bands of the decade.
82
On their latest record, Beach House have gone above and beyond in reinventing themselves.
80
When you truly let an album like 7 sit with you for a while, it’s a reminder that, even if you’re not noticing the changes, there’s always something new to uncover. 7 might not be their greatest moment, but it is their most exciting.
80
Beach House continue to explore new crannies of their familiar dream pop sound, occasionally highlighting a new aspect of their style without ever changing it completely.
80
These wider influences are enough to incrementally develop the band’s immersive sound, with the listener becoming enveloped in its rolling waves of blissful melancholia.
80
Instead of limiting themselves, Beach House are finally embracing all of their creative moments, which have inevitably challenged them to become better artists.
80
These are big songs, full of wonder, and Beach House know it. Seven albums in, they're at the start of something new.
80
The sounds are glorious, and Beach House don’t need to tear up their own rulebook after each album.
80
7 might have been a gamble for Beach House then, but they don’t appear to have lost anything.
80
Throughout 7, Beach House feel more concerned with capturing moments fully rather than conforming to notions of what a cohesive album is. That these songs sound like they came from different albums is ultimately more refreshing than disorienting, and the excitement that courses through each track is palpable.
80
Beach House remain such assured masters of their own domain that you wonder whether it'd be akin to turkeys voting for Christmas to hope for a wholesale reinvention; 7 suggests that, instead, we should let them pull up the stylistic bumper at precisely their own pace.
70
While the record is mostly hookless, gaseous in form, it doesn’t disarm them. The main takeaway is a feeling of rose-tinted catharsis, and whether or not it’s shared with the listener, a point remains, more obvious than ever: Beach House refuse to compromise their agency over their sound.
70
7 is a post-party album, a gentle, introspective comedown after a night of extroverted madness.
70
Beach House bounces back with their most adventurous album since Teen Dream.
60
While the fruits of their reinvention aren't always compelling here, 7 is still a solid first step heralding Beach House's next phase.
60
Seven albums in, and with a formula that’s kept its core elements largely the same, it’s largely Beach House by-numbers, but the pair have a gravitational pull that looks like it will never run dry.
60
Undaunted and enduring, Beach House continue to finesse their sound on this, their seventh album, a record that finds the duo – accompanied by their live drummer, James Barone – expanding their cinematic bent.
55
It’s not terrible, it’s mostly pleasant to listen to, it’s beautifully produced and it’s easy to recognize the skill it takes to craft their saintly, synth-driven sound. But when you couple a critical reputation like theirs with the band’s own claim of making a big artistic jump, mostly pleasant to listen to shouldn’t cut it.
40
'7’ isn’t an awful album, but it is an incredibly average one. Fans of Beach House will find some tracks worth listening to, and everyone else will enjoy having it on in the background, but it’s hard to believe anyone will be genuinely excited to listen back once the last song is over.
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This is the most emotionally connected I have been with a Beach House album, this instantly became my favourite album of theirs. As a long time fan, I believed Teen Dream would go down as their magnum opus, with Bloom being the only album to come close.
I’m unsure how this album will be precieved, but I can confidently say that I find more pleasure from the beauty that is 7. Each track is meticulously crafted with such a profound sense of care, their dreamy asthetic mixed with a newance ... read more
I’m unsure how this album will be precieved, but I can confidently say that I find more pleasure from the beauty that is 7. Each track is meticulously crafted with such a profound sense of care, their dreamy asthetic mixed with a newance ... read more
Pros: In their seventh record, aptly titled "7", Beach House sets a new creative cornerstone by balancing their ethereal and melancholic environments into a more concise and approachable manner, the result being a dense and deliciously mysterious and warm record. Victoria and Alex have always been determined to surpass their previous attempts and in this latest turnout from them they have shown they are more capable of reinventing their style into a better direction.
The production ... read more
The production ... read more
I know that Bloom or Teen Dream is usually considered the best Beach House album by most, but 7 gotta take that place in my heart. Listening to this album feels like riding on the waves of a meander river at midnight. Victoria LeGrand's beautiful vocals reflect on the water-rich instrumentals like the purest, loveliest, yet saddest moonlight. Stars are the jingly melodies that make up the electronic elements (speaking of which, I also greatly appreciate the ambience on the lower end fo the ... read more
I almost cried when listening to Lose Your Smile and Girl Of The Year, so it's automatically a 90+
Favorite Tracks: Lose Your Smile, Drunk In LA, Black Car, Dark Spring, Girl Of The Year, Dive, Last Ride, Pay No Mind
Least Favorite Track: N/A
Favorite Tracks: Lose Your Smile, Drunk In LA, Black Car, Dark Spring, Girl Of The Year, Dive, Last Ride, Pay No Mind
Least Favorite Track: N/A
Contributions By
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Year End Lists
| #1 | / | The A.V. Club |
| #2 | / | FLOOD |
| #3 | / | Treble |
| #4 | / | Northern Transmissions |
| #5 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
| #5 | / | Stereogum |
| #6 | / | Under the Radar |
| #7 | / | BLARE |
| #9 | / | Flavorwire |
| #9 | / | The Music |
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Track List
- Dark Spring
- Pay No Mind
- Lemon Glow
- L'Inconnue
- Drunk In LA
- Dive
- Black Car
- Lose Your Smile
- Woo
- Girl Of The Year
- Last Ride
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Added on: March 7, 2018