Beach House's first album felt like a skeletal but charming demo, but the trip-pop Baltimore duo achieves a richer approach on its second album, Devotion. Unlike the first CD, whose lo-fi sound was recorded and mixed in the pair's limited basement studio, the new set was tracked at a better recording facility. And the sonic difference is immediately noticeable. The clearer sound also helps draw listeners into the spacious music.
As they did on the debut, vocalist-songwriter Victoria Legrand and keyboard player Alex Scally craft drifting, atmospheric tunes laced with Legrand's left-of-center lyrics. It's chilly, languid music that evokes images of autumn. But the songs' structures are more solid this time, the minimalist instrumentation more assured.
Layered percussion adds a nice dimension to Devotion's haunting mix. But the music is still spare, and the rhythms are more defined. A metallic shaking sound, for instance, accents the groove of "Holy Dances," a standout on the album. "You Came to Me," perhaps the most realized cut on the 11-song set, sounds like a dreamier version of "Apple Orchard," a prime selection on Beach House's self-titled 2006 debut. Although the production is clearer and Legrand's vocals are rightfully pushed up further in the mix, Devotion would have been stronger with more musical variation.
