Beach House - Depression Cherry (2015) / Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015)

The music industry is so fricken weird these days. Who would've thought that in 2015, we would get not one, but two Beach House albums? Thanks Beyoncé for starting this surprise album drop trend, I guess. Really though, it's hard to be upset about this though. Two albums by one of the most distinct and quality indie bands working today has never hurt anyone (except maybe my feelings, cuz Beach House does that to ya).

Depression Cherry
This was the first release of the year, and the weaker of the two. This is what I wrote in August on RateYourMusic.

There's a lot to like about Depression Cherry - the smoky vocals and swelling sounds that you know and love are back! The big problem? It's just that a lot of Depression Cherry sounds a lot like Bloom.

Here's the thing: if you made me a playlist of songs from Bloom and Depression Cherry intermixed together for forty minutes and told me it was just Bloom or Depression Cherry (one or the other), I wouldn't question a thing. I'm not an avid Beach House listener, so I don't know the titles to every song or the ins-and-outs of each of them. But I am certain that there's a lot of the same sounds in both albums.

 Outside of the lead single, "Sparks", a lot of me listening to Depression Cherry was me thinking "haven't I heard this before?" It seems that Beach House made hardly any effort to make this a distinct effort in their discography. Dear Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, please take a risk next time around. It's fine to stick to what you all know well, but really, Depression Cherry sounds lazy. It's good, but really lazy too.

Looking back, Depression Cherry doesn't sound quite like anything that Beach House has done before. But there's something about it that makes it not quite like the Beach House I know and love. It's forgettable, kinda. I do think it sounds different than Bloom, though, and I appreciate the effort of making Cherry its own beast. But Beach House can do better.

6.5/10

Thank Your Lucky Stars
Thank Your Lucky Stars? More like Thank You Beach House! The unexpectedness of Stars somehow feels like an apology for Cherry (Cherry is nothing to be sorry for, btw) but also feels like a thank you for the fans for all of their Dedication. A criticism I had with Cherry was originally it sounded too much like Bloom, but Thank Your Lucky Stars sounds even more Beach Housey than it. Heck, TYLS might be their Beach Housiest album yet. This is grade-A dream pop.

"Marjorette", "She's So Lovely", and "Common Girl" are the albums finest moments. Really though, I'm so grateful for this release. Thank Your Lucky Stars isn't groundbreaking, but boy is it satisfying. It's what Beach House does best.

8/10