Taking in the vertiginous enclaves of Manchester’s Cathedral, it’s not the first place that you might consider pulling up a stage and placing on it a band. Then again, Beach House aren’t really your average band. Since 2005 they’ve steadily gained plaudits and fans alike, though it’s taken third album Teen Dream - a shifting, enrapturing journey through the group’s dreamy pop - to really stoke attention. Last time they played Manchester, it was in a 250 capacity renovated mill in Salford, tonight, in far more cavernous surroundings, the show sold out with ease. The group’s meteoric rise shouldn’t be a surprise to those that have been submerged in the heavenly delights of previous output, but it’s taken the cross over ethereal pop of Grizzly Bear and, in some ways, Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, to bring wider attention to the Baltimore duo’s canon.
To those that don’t know them (we’ll presume tonight it’s the small contingent that remain chatting few the first few songs but soon shut up) the force of the band’s live show can be nothing short of revelatory. Victoria Legrande is a master; her voice mellifluous and heartfelt, yet intoning with dark distinctions. When tonight she says “Manchester, I’ve been watching you. . . Lurking in the shadows,” you can well believe it. Like a nihilist dreaming apocalyptic romance, throughout she shakes and bangs her head to the beat kept up by those around her: Alex Scally, seated and plucking misspent youth from his guitar, and the two members of Papercutz who’ve been bought in to augment Beach House’s sensory assaults.
From the off they sound devastating. ‘Gila’, underpinned by a keening guitar line and Legrande’s desultory chants, is a perfect introduction to the bellowing charm that‘ll exhibit itself throughout tonight‘s show. With no spotlights on the band (tonight silhouettes erupt from backlighting pyramids that glow primary hues) eyes are left to wonder around the majesty of surroundings, bringing a powerfully charged aesthetic to cuts like ‘Used To Be’ or a fiery rendition of ‘Ten Mile Stereo’.
Having witnessed Manchester’s last visit by the band earlier this year, tonight they seem different, older somehow, but no less bewitching. They’ve been known to spend their time between songs offering non-sequitars and cryptic advice, now they pretty much get their heads down and play. ‘Master Of None’, taken from their self titled debut, is a woozy side step back to fragile roots, and ‘Norway’, usually lacking the multi layered grandiosity of the album’s version, is beefed up perfectly by the stage bound ensemble. After a brief sojourn from stage, an encore of ‘Ten mile Stereo’ and ‘Real Love’ delivers on all the promises you might hope to find in this sort of space. Beach House’s first steps onto hallowed ground look set to be their next towards a pop sainthood that’s long overdue.
by Alex Hibbert
Tags: Beach House
Friday 19/11/10 Beach House @ Manchester Central, Manchester
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