Devotion

(TLDR: Mmmmmmmm Devotion cake.)

Beach House is the best dream pop act of all time. I’m sure some people would argue it’s Cocteau Twins, but I truly think that Beach House has surpassed them. However, every act has to start somewhere, and I wanted to check out one of their first albums. So here it is in all its glory — their sophomore album, Devotion.

Now, Devotion is an interesting album. It’s right before their masterpieces Teen Dream and Myth, and it’s not their first album that would go to their self-titled. I mean, this album is nothing less than impressive for a sophomore album, but it feels widely forgotten in the vast catalog Beach House has.

To talk about the album itself, I think this is where Beach House really hit their stride. I mean, all signs on this album point up, and it’s no surprise Teen Dream came right after this. Their self-titled album left a lot to improve, and I think Devotion was the next step forward. If you want to hear the blueprint that has made Beach House so good for the last decade and a half, well, here it is.

Devotion feels like one of, if not Beach House’s most expansive albums. I mean, Beach House is no stranger to making large, intricate songs that’ll suck you in, but all the songs here just feel never ending. “You Came to Me” and “Gila” just feel infinite in a way I find troubling to explain. These songs feel like you are just dropped into them infinitely. You can really feel as these songs almost surround you. Beach House has since proven they’re no rookies with expansive songs, but here I felt they hit a stride. I think what this album has over some of their others is the fuzzier production. Often, I feel like since their album Myth Beach House has featured much colder music.( if that makes sense?). I mean, not in a bad way, just different. Something like “Holy Dances” is like a warm memory of a merry-go-round, if that makes any sense. Everything in this album feels warm to the touch.

Another thing is that a lot of the instrumentation they use here came to pioneer Beach House’s sound. “You Came to Me” seems like an early version of “Used to Be.” I mean, not exactly, but with the kick drum and melody, it’s strikingly similar. “Heart of Chambers” is just a beautifully melancholic song where the electric guitar mixes with Victoria’s voice to create something absolutely spellbinding. It’s super interesting to hear all the elements Beach House would later incorporate into their music here. I also just wanted to say it’s impressive that Victoria’s voice has been so fucking good for near two decades now. I mean, seriously, just go listen to her, because it’s not worth my time describing all the different ways it’s beautiful.

Now, sadly, this album isn’t perfect. I think the one issue is that while this album may be more vast than a lot of Beach House’s records, it’s also more empty. I don’t know if it was a limitation of their circumstances or a choice, but the never ending voids I described can be more sleepy than beautiful on some tracks. A song like “Turtle Island” and “All the Years” are certainly not worth revisiting in Beach House’s extensive catalog. I think on most songs there's a lack of background instrumentation that they have better filled on albums since. Nowadays, Beach House rarely makes a sleepy universe, instead, they make an enchanting one. But I feel like on Devotion, their vaster songs resulted in more empty space.

Overall, I really enjoyed Devotion. For a sophomore album, it’s nothing less than impressive. I mean it's a bit sleepy at times, But it's still impressively enchanting. It’s sad that their next two albums massively overshadow this one, but that doesn’t make Devotion any less great. Many of those songs wouldn’t exist without the blueprint that Devotion laid out. Devotion is nothing less than another enchanting album from Beach House and it just so happened to be where it all started.