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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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These are crisper, brighter, bolder songs, retaining Beach House's sense of elegant decay while sweeping up the debris.
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Slide 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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MagnetThe 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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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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As with many a lasting romance, the album’s secret is variety within the constancy.
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It'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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As comfortable as the Beach House sound is, it's the uncomfortable moments that are most seductive.
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The 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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Under The RadarIn all, Devotion teems with as many moments of ethereal beauty as the debut. [Winter 2008, p.80]
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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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Beach 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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One 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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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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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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When 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.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 85 out of 91
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Mixed: 5 out of 91
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Negative: 1 out of 91
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Aug 25, 2022Like the coverart depicts "Devotion " is supernatural. A layered séance that invokes lulling dreampop harmonies and soft textures
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Apr 18, 2016
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Aug 10, 2015