Bloom

Beach House's fourth full-length and second for Sub Pop, Bloom, builds on the lavishness introduced on their acclaimed 2010 release Teen Dream, thoughtfully constructing a unified vision and sound with the help of producer Chris Coady. Conceptualized during the band's extensive touring schedule, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally solidified Bloom back at their Baltimore home base, recording the album in 2011 over the course of seven weeks at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas and mixing it at the legendary Electric Lady Studios. Bloom is intended to be experienced as an album rather than a collection of standalone songs, with new depth and meaning revealed over repeated listens; Legrand related this to the idea of the album title, describing it as "a fleeting vision of life in all of its intensity and colour, beautiful even if only for a moment." ~ Chrysta Cherrie