Opening the doors to Beach House

Decked from head to toe in all white, Beach House’s Victoria Legrand proves to be just as tranquil as her music.

Following her and band mate Alex Scally’s headlining performance at last Saturday’s Culture Shock Festival, the organist/vocalist posed for photos with fans, then grabbed a cigarette and began talking about the evolution of Beach House. She spoke in a raspy, calm voice, using subtle, gentle hand motions to express herself.

The band formed in 2005 in Baltimore after Legrand and Scally (guitar, keyboard) met through a mutual friend. The two soon started experimenting with their instruments and potential sound. Baltimore’s music scene goes virtually unnoticed despite the eclectic variety of bands that thrive here, Legrand said.

Beach House, however, has already proved to be an exception.

Although the two started the band rather spontaneously, their first album, 2006’s Beach House, soon took flight. Within a year of their formation, Legrand and Scally’s song “Apple Orchard” landed a spot on a Pitchforkmedia.com mixtape, a list of free downloads the influential music Web site provides. While Beach House received some buzz from the Pitchfork plug, it wasn’t until the release of their 2008 sophomore album Devotion that they gained the attention of indie rockers nationwide, as they began to play sold-out shows to several clubs.

Legrand said Devotion showed that Beach House could remain true to its original sound, while also gaining a newfound maturity.

“It (the progression from Beach House to Devotion) evolved naturally – it was more free-standing and emotional,” she said.

Legrand said this progression also made her and Scally more at ease when performing.

“Since we’re more comfortable with our new music, we’re more comfortable playing shows,” Legrand said.

In fact, Legrand noted that she enjoyed headlining Culture Shock at Dunn Meadow more than performing at this past summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival, which hosted acts such as Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono and the GZA at Chicago’s Union Park.

As opposed to playing for the larger Pitchfork crowd that she noted mostly stood around during Beach House’s performance, Legrand said Culture Shock’s audience had a certain energy that radiated back to her.

During their set, bright lights gently emitted circles on the stage, making the band appear to be performing underwater. A fake palm tree of a party-store variety was attached to the ceiling of the tent, and Scally’s large shadow was cast upon the ceiling.

Although Beach House’s music evoked a calmness for its audiences, Legrand herself ardently tossed her long brown hair up and down as she pounded her keyboard.
Their tour in support of Devotion commenced with a hometown show Feb. 28. They have already played a total of 33 shows nationwide. Legrand said every show was a different learning experience for the band, and that gave them room for even more growth.

Beach House had briefly passed through Indiana before, but Culture Shock was the band’s first visit to Bloomington. Legrand said the town offered them something special that they weren’t necessarily expecting.

“There’s a real liberal vibe in Bloomington, which was comforting for us,” Legrand said.
Arriving around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Scally and Legrand ate pizza and drank beer on Kirkwood Avenue, although Legrand said they didn’t have enough money to go shopping.

Despite the band’s recent popularity and their desire to be full-time artists, Legrand still works part-time as a waitress and bartender at a Mexican restaurant and Scally works as a carpenter.

Although their tour officially ended earlier this month, they will play one more show in the U.S., as well as a few more gigs in Europe.

Legrand mentioned that the band will play All Tomorrow’s Parties music festival in England this May, where they’ll perform alongside indie-rock favorites Dinosaur Jr. and Broken Social Scene. After returning to the U.S., Legrand hopes to look for some down time, store up inspirations and start writing again.

“I hope to keep bringing something exciting; something with light, something with color, something with energy,” she said.