Beach House Illuminate MTelus

The dream pop duo made a stop in Montreal on their extensive tour in support of their latest effort, Once Twice Melody.

By: Sun Noor

The duo were joined by Los Angeles-based harpist Mary Lattimore who looped together some eerie yet melodic sounds as the room began to fill.

Beach House are one of the few bands who manage to create a dreamy experience though their subtle yet ethereal visuals and song selection. Their sets have always had a cinematic quality, often starting off with some of their older material. Some of the more beloved tracks would sometimes make their way into the mix halfway though the set, in an unpredictable manner. With their discography spanning almost two decades, their shows have always felt nostalgic, which is definitely a sentiment that was shared within room. Whether it was reminiscing about memories attributed to some of their earlier records or Once Twice Melody, I felt as though I was transported back to those times in my life that were soundtracked by those records.

The duo consisting of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand alongside drummer James Barone, appeared from the subtle fluorescent lighting, kicking things off with the title track. The band has this interesting component on their tour website that allows for song request, which explains why none of their set lists on tours are ever similar. Most of the fan favourites such as “Lazuli,” off Bloom, which turned 10 a few months back, were featured. The ominous fluorescent glow slowly morphed into a backdrop lit up with stars reminiscent of the album’s cover as the band performed under hazy strobe lights. They picked up on songs from Once Twice Melody, performing “Pink Funeral,” under pink lights. This track strikes as one of the more defining numbers off the album, being more rhythmic and slowly building up with the percussion. The live rendition was quite captivating as the sound appeared to bounce from each corner of the venue.

One of the more notable elements from the last few performances from the band is how much their live sound has evolved, creating such a mesmerizing atmosphere. Tracks such as “Masquerade,” which is more percussion heavy and the hazy shoegaze number “Superstar,” were made to be performed in live setting. Those were also among the the six tracks from Once Twice Melody on the duo’s neatly crafted set list. The tracks from their previous record ,7, had more glimmering, film-like visuals. The song selection was balanced between the more joyous numbers and the slightly melancholic ones, as the band continued to build up the momentum throughout their set.

Set List:

• “Once Twice Melody”
• “Lazuli”
• “Dark Spring”
• “Beyond Love”
• “Pink Funeral”
• “PPP”
• “Masquerade”
• “Silver Soul”
• “Superstar”
• “Drunk in LA”
• “New Romance”
• “Somewhere Tonight”
• “Lemon Glow”
• “Space Song”
• “Modern Love Stories”

Encore:

• “Myth”
• “Over and Over”

Beach House are due to end this leg of their North American tour at The Anthem in Washington D.C. Check out the complete list of tour dates here.