Beach House Shows Off a Few New Tricks at Crystal Ballroom

There are people who think Beach House is boring. Arriving with an almost perfect dream-pop template almost a decade ago, the group has steadily built out its sound from its drum machine and organ-drone core. Yet even as things changed, it also sort of stayed the same, with shows plagued by an hour of melancholy music that really does all sound the same. After steadily moving away from its experimental core toward something resembling a legitimate hit in 2012's "Myth," the band returned last fall with a narrative about scaling back for its pair of releases, Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars. But its performance at a sold-out Crystal Ballroom on Thursday night actually revealed a different surprise: Beach House is a shoegaze band now.

Rounded out with a drummer and bass player for most of the set, this live incarnation of Beach House occasionally skewed more toward My Bloody Valentine than Mazzy Star. Songs that float by on record were bolstered by a second guitar or the consistent buzz of a deep bassline. Singer Victoria Legrand, steady and composed on recordings, pushed her voice to its natural limit two or three times, even screaming at the end of old standout "Master of None." Guitarist Alex Scally, who used to sit down for entire shows, was mostly on his feet, mixing in layers of fuzz with his usual rainbow spirals of melody.

Beach House's confidence in its revised sound was also reflected in the stage show. The lighting was simple but effervescent, highlighting the main colors of the Beach House palette—deep greens, paisley purples, bright pink and soft gold. A twinkling star backdrop appeared for a few songs, including "Take Care" and "Space Song" (duh), which was also an unofficial cue for all the couples in the audience to hold each other close. Beach House has always been a band that inspires romantic devotion, but it was cool to see them get so loud on the coda of "Elegy to the Void"—members of the audience were actually covering their ears from the noise.

All photos by Henry Cromett.

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