After a month on the road, the Baltimore-based dream pop duo Beach House will close off the North American leg of their world tour in the nation's capital on Saturday, Aug. 25. The show will be held at The Anthem, a recently erected music venue and auditorium at D.C.’s The Wharf, and features an opening act from San Francisco indie pop group Papercuts. Their concert is in support of Beach House’s newest album, "7."
On "7," Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally sound bigger and more energized than ever. Parting ways with longtime producer Chris Coady, Legrand and Scally switched gears to collaborate with Pete Kember (Sonic Boom) and English audio engineer Alan Moulder, who are both influential in the world of indie rock.
Kember is best known as a co-founder of the 1980s neo-psychedelic band Spaceman 3, and works with some of the best experimental indie rock bands such as No Joy, MGMT, and Panda Bear. Moulder has worked on albums for nearly all of the original shoegaze bands, with a discography that includes seminal releases for My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride and more.
With the release of "7," Legrand and Scally have now made music with some of the greats who helped create the sound that inspired them to start making music. The result is an electric album that seamlessly blends elements of chaos, melancholy, and psychedelia.
Some critics began to think Beach House became stuck in the dreamy atmosphere they had relentlessly crafted since their humble Baltimore beginnings. Even Scally started to feel restless with the routine.
In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Scally remarked “I remember past moments in the studio where something would be really messy and off-kilter, and I think we’re used to having someone around to be like ‘you can’t do that.’” With Kember in the studio, Legrand felt a “silent encouragement to be constantly open to things.”
It will be interesting to see how Legrand and Scally incorporate their new direction to the stage. Their Instagram shows the two as shadows in front of a fading ombré of blue and orange. Concertgoers should expect a great visual show to go along with a fan-curated selection of songs both new and old.
"7" is available on iTunes and Spotify, and can also be viewed as a visual stream on YouTube. Doors for the show at The Anthem open at 6:30 p.m. with the performance set to start at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
