Album Review: Beach House - Bloom

Already up to album number four, Beach House have concocted another milestone that fulfils their continuing obsession with creating atmospheric and subliminal noise, underpinned by the subtlest melancholy. The band is another step closer to perfection on Bloom and, despite it being no great departure from 2010's Teen Dream, the duo's efforts here continue the journey started on that album.

Despite the haphazard convenience of downloading music, Bloom is evidence that bands are still interested in opting for a holistic approach when recording. Rather than leaving it to a few choice singles and some filler, it would appear Beach House intended the record to be listened from start to finish – indeed Bloom really feels as if it's been created for this purpose. That said, there are still some moments that should be highlighted, such as Other People and the hidden track Wherever You Go. I mostly didn't get what singer Victoria Legrand (who sounds more like Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star on this record) was singing about, but it doesn't matter because the sombre, sometimes sorrowful and other times soothing sounds are like Rorschach inkblots and will mean different things to different people.

The band's creative ability to weave so much with so little is a reminder for any aspiring musician that you don't necessarily need the best equipment, or bandmates or even anything bigger than an inner-city bathroom, to make enduring music to wake up to, fall asleep to and to be completely embraced by. Bloom is all this, a work of brilliance from a couple of kids well beyond their years.