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Quite how US critics champions Grizzly Bear and Beach House drafted a stop off at Warwick University into the itinerary of their UK tour could well be just as much of a mystery to them as the campus Arts Centre’s booking team. Still every available seat of a hall that last exam season was packed with nervous students drafting their under-revised replies to the political philosophy of John Rawls came filled with an excitable mix of the student body and aficionados of American indie from further afield.
This was perhaps then the perfect audience for Baltimore residents Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally to weave the lusting yarns of hushed desire found within their much acclaimed third record under the Beach House moniker ‘Team Dream’. Aided by their venue’s recent acoustic refurbishment, the duo’s lush waves of lilting synth lead melancholy proved a haunting appetiser from which the malevolent undertones of Silver Soul and Zebra garnished an added zeal. Legrand’s waif like coo, in particular, forged a bold resonance upon the tide of 'Walk In The Park’s' pained refrain: “More, you want more, you tell me / More, only time can run me”.
With wistful images of adolescence still fresh in the mind of a rapt crowd, Brooklyn’s four finest folk rockers stepped on stage to deliver a Grizzly Bear performance that was more mature in content though no less enthralling. Arranged in a sprawling horizontal formation and bathed in the soft glow of lighting rig constructed from several hanging bulbs mounted within clear glass jam jars, Edward Roste and co conjured an appropriately organic frame for the measured meander of 'Lullabye' and 'Fine For Now'.
The majority of their set list came drawn from the immediate grasp of last year’s ‘Veckatimist’ with a healthy clutch of tracks from its more atmospheric predecessor ‘Yellow House’ thrown in for good measure.
Importantly though, the latter LP’s occasional tendency to lax into odious instrumentals was offset by the re-emergence of Legrand to contribute guest vocals to the chiming chords of Two Weeks. Sticking around to replicate her cameo on the ‘New Moon’ OST’s 'Slow Life', the chanteuse’s Nico-eqsue howl was somewhat appropriately lost in the midst of Daniel Rossen’s spectral keys.
Having carefully constructed a slow rise in dramatics till the final third of the show, an elegantly fragile 'Foreground' ushered in a dazzling final 15 minutes in which the band would dispatch much of their finest work to date with the rousing harmonies and shrill six stringing outro of ''While The Others Wait' leading into a frenetic 'On A Neck, On A Spit'. Taking a brief break from the spotlight only to emerge for an encore with something more acoustic, the wholesome harmonies of 'All We Ask' proved a rousing ending from which a spellbound audience could not help but croon along.
No doubt this neat denouement by the accomplished four piece was no one off in recognition of their peculiar setting yet in the context of the evening, it felt like a special end to a unique occasion.
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