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Beach House have created as profound an invocation of the sacred and the sentimental as you're ever likely to hear.
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Devotion includes all of the same essential ingredients as its predecessor, but a ratcheting-up of intensity makes this album shine even brighter.
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85These are crisper, brighter, bolder songs, retaining Beach House's sense of elegant decay while sweeping up the debris.
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84Slide guitars and steel drums seduce the listener into a world of gentle pain, making for a sophomore album that is, like its predecessor, a beautiful collection of songs and images seemingly constructed upon repulsion and ennui.
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Devotion's half-submerged, half-weightless ambience feels like a shaky yet sure transition into something even more abstract and fragile.
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Beach House's dark moods have more shades, and even a little bit of light, making them all the more compelling.
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80The melodies and arrangements take center stage, and they're consistently stunning. [Winter 2008, p.97]
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This tandem of dream pop has crafted a beautiful, spectral and memorable album with Devotion.
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As with many a lasting romance, the album's secret is variety within the constancy.
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80It's transfixing in the moment and even more so once you've stopped listening.
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The intoxicating arrangements of 'All the Years,' 'Heart of Chambers,' and closer 'Home Again' prove Devotion is haunted, a force hard to resist.
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Despite the gorgeous production, listening to 11 of these ragged dirges in a row requirea unconditional Devotion. [29 Feb 2008]
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Legrand's nebulous vocals may have the effect of casino music at times, but we're reeled into a settling autumnal haze.
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In all, Devotion teems with as many moments of ethereal beauty as the debut. [Winter 2008, p.80]
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70One almost has to listen closely to take notice of Devotion's every last little benumbed intricacy but it's as rewarding as it is tantalizing.
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As comfortable as the Beach House sound is, it's the uncomfortable moments that are most seductive.
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70The effect is like a vaguely remembered, pleasantly low-key dream. [Mar 2008, p.97]
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Devotion has that same opiated warmth that left me lying in a bed of rose petals for long stretches last year, and though I would have preferred a bigger growth spurt from the Baltimore duo, they shot up at least enough to warrant a new pencil mark a half-inch/inch above where I placed them in '06.
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Devotion goes down a little easier is both its strength and a feature that proves a bit disappointing in the end.
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70Beach House's revamped sound may disappoint shoegazers upon first listen, but the band's newfound command of melody, fuller instrumentation, and excellent pacing make Devotion a better record altogether.
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Devotion is a delicate, often gorgeous listen that flows remarkably well, though I can't help but attribute its coherence to the utter lack of variation among its eleven songs.
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64When they hit even small strides, like the album's murky single 'Gila,' the relief is like a breath of ocean air. Otherwise, for the most part, the admittedly pretty songs simply fade away, like footprints in the sand.
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60Scally's armoury of drum boxes, Bontempi organs and electric guitars provides shape-shifting backgrounds--classic '60s pop arrangements filtered through the fuzzy prism of a dream. [Mar 2008, p.108]
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60If you like Galaxie 500, Mazzy Star, Low, you'll adore them. If you don't, you won't. [Mar 2008, p.83]
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60Legrand and Scally have wisely not radically tinkered with their hypnotic formula. Everything is dreamily understated. [Mar 2008, p.100]
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60To conjure this otherworldly sound is impressive, but the lack of variation in tempo and atmosphere makes sustaining interest for a full 45 minutes difficult.
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60The songs lack the emotional pull of the duo's debut. Seeds of greatness are still evident, but this direction just seems like a dead end.
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60The album truly is beautiful within its down tempo setting, and as a soundtrack for the morning after, there's nothing quite like keeping the lights off and the volume low and simply letting Devotion get you through the day.
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Rather than fading into you, they're content to simply fade away.
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BrendanD10
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Jason7Nice follow-up.......however their debut is much better.