B-Sides and Rarities is a compilation album by American dream pop band Beach House, released on June 30, 2017, through Sub Pop in North America, Bella Union in Europe, and Mistletone Records in Australia. Alluding to the title, the compilation contains B-sides released by the band, along with rare or unreleased songs, which were all written and recorded separately from 2005 to 2016. The band thought of releasing a B-sides record once they had realized how many non-album songs were recorded over the years, and how hard it was to find and hear many of them.
The album includes two previously unreleased tracks, "Chariot" and "Baseball Diamond", the former being released as the album's lead single on May 17, 2017; these were recorded during the recording sessions of Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015). It also features live recordings of "Norway" and "White Moon", both released on their iTunes Session EP (2010), the non-album song "I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun", which was initially released on the internet for free in 2010, alternate versions of released songs, tracks previously released as hidden tracks and a cover of Queen's "Play the Game". Debuting at number 137 on US Billboard 200, the compilation received generally favourable reviews from critics.
Background and content
"When we announced that we were releasing a B-sides and rarities album, someone on Twitter asked, "B-sides record? Why would Beach House put out a B-sides record? Their A-sides are like B-sides." This random person has a point. Our goal has never been to make music that is explicitly commercial. Over the years, as we have worked on our 6 LPs, it wasn’t the "best" or most catchy songs that made the records, just the ones that fit together to make a cohesive work. Accordingly, our B-sides are not songs that we didn’t like as much, just ones that didn’t have a place on the records we were making."
On August 28, 2015, Beach House released their fifth studio album Depression Cherry, which marked the band's return to a simpler style of dream pop.[2][3] The album debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200, selling 27,000 copies in its first week, becoming their second top-10 entry on the chart.[4] On October 7, 2015, about two months after its release, they announced their sixth studio album Thank Your Lucky Stars, which was stated to be a follow-up, but not a companion, to Depression Cherry or a "surprise or B-sides".[5][6] On January 2017, the band revealed that they were putting together a collection of B-sides and rare cuts.[7] The idea for a B-sides record came when the band realized how many non-album songs had been made over the years, and how hard it was to find and hear many of them. This compilation contains every song the band has ever made that does not exist on one of their records.[1]
B-Sides and Rarities is compromised of 14 tracks, with 12 of them being previously released, but were "in general, hard to find good versions of."[8] Beach House stated that a few of the songs on the album were remastered, with some being brought "up to date".[9] "Chariot" and "Baseball Diamond" are both previously unreleased tracks on the album, both recorded during the sessions for the band's 2015 albums Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars.[10] The album also includes "Baby", "The Arrangement" and "10 Mile Stereo" (Cough Syrup remix), which were initially released as B-sides to the band's 2010 single "Zebra",[11] with the first also being included as a B-side for "Norway" and as an iTunes bonus track for the aforementioned singles' parent album, Teen Dream.[12][13] "Equal Mind" was released as a B-side to "Lazuli", the second single from the band's 2012 album, Bloom.[14]
The single version of "Used to Be", which was recorded and released in 2008, is also featured on the album, which was later reworked for Teen Dream. "White Moon" is a song released on the band's live EPiTunes Session (2010), which also included a version of "Norway".[15] A remix of the two versions appears on the album.[9] "Play the Game" is a Queen cover, which the band had recorded in 2009 and initially appeared on the compilation album Dark Was the Night as an iTunes-exclusive bonus track.[16] Written during the Bloom recording sessions, "Saturn Song" was released in 2014 as the band's contribution to The Space Project, another compilation album by various artists, released through Lefse Records.[17] "Rain in Numbers" and "Wherever You Go" are hidden tracks that appeared at the end of the closing tracks of Beach House and Bloom respectively. "I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun" is a holiday song the band released in 2010.[18]
Development and recording
The oldest recorded song on B-Sides and Rarities is "Rain in Numbers", which was recorded in 2005 during the summer when the band was formed. Used as the hidden track from their self-titled debut album, the duo used their friend's piano, which was "pretty out of tune", and used a four-track recording tape to record the piano and vocals. The next couple of songs are from late 2008. The band said they were "so excited" about "Used to Be" that they recorded it right after writing it so they could have it as a 7" single for their fall tour with the Baltimore Round Robin. They recorded their cover of Queen's "Play the Game" in the same session. It was for a charity compilation benefiting AIDS research, stating that they "will continue to donate all profits from the song to that charity. As fans of Queen, we thought it would be fun and ridiculous to try to adapt their high-powered pop song into our realm. These songs were recorded at the same studio where we made Devotion."[1]
"Baby" was written and recorded in October 2009 with the band's friend Jason Quever. "10 Mile Stereo" was recorded during the Teen Dream session in July 2009, "since we used tape, we often slowed the tape way down to create effects while recording. When we were doing that for "10 Mile Stereo" we decided we wanted to make an alternate version where the whole song was slowed down, hence the "10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix)"". "White Moon" and "The Arrangement" were both songs that the band didn't believe fit on Teen Dream. The former originally appeared on the band's live iTunes Session EP. Since the song was recorded and mixed "very hastily", they have remixed it to better match their "current aesthetics". They have also remixed and included the version of "Norway" they did at that same session, noting: "the main reason we wanted to include "Norway" is that it features a very different bridge from the original version."[1]
"I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun" was written and recorded in 2010 during a break between tours after Beach House felt "incredibly grateful" to their fans, and was released for free on the internet, unmastered.[19] They stated that the song was now mastered for the album. "Wherever You Go" is another song from that era. The band said they "always loved" it, but thought it sounded too much like their old music. They paused writing it and didn't finish it until 2011 during the Bloom recording session.[1] Guitarist Alex Scally explained that they did not want the song to be part of the album and instead serves as "a wink at the end of [Bloom]", denoting its status as its hidden track.[20] Another song written during the Bloom sessions was "Equal Mind", which did not appear on the album and was instead released as the B-side to "Lazuli" after realizing that it had instrumental similarities to "Other People", specifically its tempo, thus stating that it "did not fit" on the album;[21] it was initially confirmed that the song would "never exist" in a digital format.[22] The Bloom sessions led to "Saturn Song". This song is built on a piano loop the band wrote while recording Bloom. It also contains sounds recorded in deep space. It originally appeared on a compilation of songs incorporating space sounds which was released in 2014.[1]
The album was released on June 30, 2017 through Sub Pop worldwide, Bella Union in the UK, and Mistletone in Australia, on CD, LP, cassette and digital download.[32] It was made available for pre-order on May 17, 2017,[33] and was accompanied by the release of "Chariot",[10] which was uploaded to the band's official YouTube channel a day later. On June 14, they released a music video for the song.[34] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]AllMusic said "B-Sides and Rarities points out the similarities and differences in Beach House's music over the years, even if its tracks aren't in chronological order," adding that it is "a collection that's lovely in its own right, and in its own way, is just as representative of Beach House's music as a traditional best-of would be."[24]Daily Express called it the best album of the week, while stating that the songs "paint a fascinating picture of a band slowly building from the delicacy of earlier tracks."[25]Drowned in Sound stated that "what the record lacks in atmosphere, it more than makes up for in discrete bursts of quality."[26]
Pretty Much Amazing stated that Beach House "might be clearing the deck before a major label deal, or a shift in sound, or a next step in the band, but I have yet to hear a weak Beach House song, here's to hoping for seven more."[30]Paste said "B-Sides and Rarities is a career-spanning collection, but Beach House's sound has remained so consistent that, without the band's extensive notes, it's nearly impossible to guess which songs stem from which era," further stating that: "There is nothing remotely bad on here, but there is also nothing that finds the duo lightening up or straying too far from the warm glow of their trademark sound. Nothing outlandish or self-indulgent or uncharacteristically loud."[27]Under the Radar wrote: "this is the archetypical B-sides and rarities album. Thankfully, Beach House's B-sides are equivalent to most bands' A-sides, yet we are still left with a mixed bag," concluding that "ultimately, this B-sides and rarities album includes some intriguing material that will keep fans entertained until the next album, but most likely will have them returning to their favorite album tracks for a more satisfying fix."[31]Pitchfork wrote: "It's a testament to the band's consistency that B-Sides and Rarities plays nearly as smoothly as a proper Beach House album, even though one of these tracks—scattered non-chronologically through an hourlong playtime—is more than a decade old."[28]
Track listing
All songs written by Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, except where noted.
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