Beach House – Thank Your Lucky Stars (Sub Pop, 2015)
A marginal step up from August’s banal Depression Cherry, Thank Your Lucky Stars nonetheless showcases minimal growth from a songwriting standpoint. Beach House fails to provide a compelling case for this second full length of 2015. Beyond outfitting their sketchbook song structures with gloomier minor progressions, the duo essentially rely on the same kitchen sink of pretty clichés and mid-tempo nonchalance that’s come to define them. Though the band have stressed Thank Your Lucky Stars isn’t a companion piece to Depression Cherry, it nevertheless harbours a similarly dry feel, its skeletal instrumentals occasionally brought to life by dissonance. Though some fans may welcome the band’s return to the more gaunt arrangements of their self-titled debut, Thank Your Lucky Stars is simply content with providing more of the same, for better or worse.
Trial Track: “One Thing”
5/10
