Beach House — B~Sides and Rarities (June 30, 2017)

    ^{Beach House — B~Sides and Rarities (June 30, 2017)}  •≡≡•   “The idea for a B~sides record came when we realized just how many non~album songs had been made over the years, and how hard it was to find and hear many of them.”Location: Baltimore, MD
Album release: June 30, 2017
Recorded: 2005~2016 at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana
Record Label: Bella Union / Mistletone / Sub Pop
Duration:     56:37
Tracks:
01 Chariot     5:17
02 Baby     3:03
03 Equal Mind     3:43
04 Used to Be (2008 Single Version)     4:07
05 White Moon (iTunes Session Remix)     4:07
06 Baseball Diamond     4:36
07 Norway (iTunes Session Remix)     3:16
08 Play the Game     4:18
09 The Arrangement     5:05
10 Saturn Song     4:31
11 Rain in Numbers     2:27
12 I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun     3:11
13 10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix)     5:31
14 Wherever You Go     3:27
℗ 2017 Sub Pop Records
Members: Victoria Legrand / Alex Scally
Lyrics:
•   Victoria Legrand     1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
•   Freddie Mercury     8
•   Legrand, Scally     2, 4, 5
Credits:
•   Beach House Arranger, Art Direction, Composer, Instrumentation, Mixing, Producer
•   Chris Coady Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Remixing
•   Daniel Franz Drums, Percussion
•   Rob Girardi Mixing, Producer
•   Graham Hill Drums
•   Heba Kadry Mastering
•   Jeff Kleinsmith Art Direction, Design
•   Joe LaPorta Mastering
•   Victoria Legrand Group Member
•   Freddie Mercury Composer
•   Jason Quever Engineer, Mixing, Producer
•   Alex Scally Composer, Group Member
•   Jay Wesley Assistant Engineer
•   Steven Wright EngineerAllMusic Review by Heather Phares; Score:  ****
•≡≡•   Beach House fans were spoiled in the late 2010s: Not only did the band release Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars within a year of each other, they followed it with an even deeper dive into their music with B~Sides and Rarities. Covering more than a decade’s worth of songs, the collection underscores that while Beach House’s music sounds fragile, it’s also surprisingly resilient.
•≡≡•   Their albums range from charmingly lo~fi to ethereal perfection without diminishing any of their poignant beauty, and B~Sides and Rarities is nearly as consistent. The set is bookended by a pair of songs that are classic Beach House: The previously unreleased “Chariot” begins things with glowing keyboards and a ticking drum machine that are instantly, reassuringly familiar, while the drifting ”Wherever You Go” closes the album with a slow fade. In between, B~Sides and Rarities points out the similarities and differences in Beach House’s music over the years, even if its tracks aren’t in chronological order. “Rain in Numbers,” a hushed, demo~quality song from 2005, proves once again that the interplay between Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally was magic from the start, while “Used to Be (2008 Single Version)” hints at the more polished approach they took on Teen Dream. Elsewhere, the Bloom outtake “Equal Mind” reflects that album’s crystalline beauty, and the whispery ruminations of “Baseball Diamond” (the collection’s other previously unreleased track) are lovely even if they’re not quite up to the standard of the songs that appeared on Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars. Many of B~Sides and Rarities‘ scattered gems come from 2009 and 2010, including standouts such as a remixed version of “White Moon” from their iTunes session EP and the aptly narcotic “10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix),” which inflates the song’s melancholy to vast proportions. Meanwhile, other Teen Dream~era outtakes like “Baby,” a sardonic waltz about an overly confident lover, and the ’70s sunshine pop~indebted “The Arrangement,” serve as reminders that the band’s rare glimpses of humor are a refreshing part of their music. A live version of “Norway” with a different bridge and a lullaby cover of Queen’s “Play the Game” are treats for super fans that round out a collection that’s lovely in its own right, and in its own way, is just as representative of Beach House’s music as a traditional best~of would be.   •≡≡•   http://www.allmusic.com/PRE~ORDER HISTORY
•   All customers who pre~order the LP version of B~Sides and Rarities will receive the album on Loser Edition clear vinyl while supplies last (available until you read right here that it’s no longer in stock!).
•   Customers will be given access to stream the full album on June 16th, two (2) weeks before release date, from your SubPop.com account with a pre~order of the album on any format.
•   All pre~orders will also receive any and all pre~release track downloads in advance of the album release as they are made public, which will be available from your SubPop.com account as they become available.
•   All physical pre~order items should ship out from our warehouse in Seattle, WA between 5~8 days before release date, so long as their are no delays in manufacturing that would delay this advance shipping timeline.
•   International orders may not arrive by release day as extra time must be taken into consideration for distance traveled and customs department clearance.
•   Bloom and Teen Dream are also being released on cassette on 6/30 and will ship out at the same time as other pre~orders.Description:
•≡≡•   This compilation contains every song Beach House — aka Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand — has made that does not exist on one of their albums. The band explains:
•≡≡•   “When we announced that we were releasing a B~sides and rarities album, someone on Twitter asked, “B~sides record? Why would Beach House put out a B~sides record? Their A~sides are like B~sides.” This random person has a point. Our goal has never been to make music that is explicitly commercial. Over the years, as we have worked on our 6 LPs, it wasn’t the “best” or most catchy songs that made the records, just the ones that fit together to make a cohesive work. Accordingly, our B~sides are not songs that we didn’t like as much, just ones that didn’t have a place on the records we were making.
•≡≡•   The oldest song is “Rain in Numbers” and was recorded in 2005, during the summer when we formed the band. We didn’t have a piano, so we asked our friend if we could use his, which was pretty out of tune. We used the mic that was on the four~track machine to record the piano and vocals. It was originally the secret song on our self~titled debut.
•≡≡•   The next couple of songs are from late 2008. We were so excited about “Used to Be” that we quickly recorded it and put it on a 7”  for our fall tour with the Baltimore Round Robin. The same session begat our cover of Queen’s “Play the Game” for a charity compilation benefiting AIDS research; we will continue to donate all profits from the song to that charity. As fans of Queen, we thought it would be fun and ridiculous to try to adapt their high~powered pop song into our realm. These songs were recorded at the same studio where we made Devotion.
•≡≡•   There are a bunch of songs written and recorded in the 2009~2010 window. “Baby” was written and recorded in October 2009 with our friend Jason Quever. “10 Mile Stereo” was recorded during the Teen Dream session in July 2009. Since we used tape, we often slowed the tape way down to create effects while recording, which led to “10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix).”
•≡≡•   “White Moon” and “The Arrangement” were both songs that we didn’t believe fit on Teen Dream. “White Moon” originally appeared on our iTunes live session. Since that was recorded and mixed very hastily, we have remixed it to better match our current aesthetics. We have also remixed and included the version of “Norway” we did at that same session. We wrote and recorded “I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun” during a break between tours and released it on the internet for free, unmastered. Well, it’s finally been mastered…
•≡≡•   “Wherever You Go” is another song from that era.  We always loved this song but thought it sounded too much like our old music. We didn’t finish it until 2011 during the Bloom recording session. It appeared originally as a secret song on Bloom. “Equal Mind” was also recorded during the Bloom session, but we left it off the record after realizing it had the exact same tempo as “Other People.” “Saturn Song” is built on a piano loop we wrote while recording Bloom, and contains sounds recorded in deep space. It originally appeared on a compilation of songs incorporating space sounds that was released in 2014.
•≡≡•   Finally, there are two previously unreleased songs from the Depression Cherry/Thank Your Lucky Stars sessions. They are called “Chariot” and “Baseball Diamond.””
Website: http://www.beachhousebaltimore.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beachhouse
Label: https://megamart.subpop.com/                     © Victoria Legrand performing at Manchester Cathedral,  November 2010.
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Beach House — B~Sides and Rarities (June 30, 2017)

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