Bloom is the fourth studio album by American dream pop duo Beach House. It was released on May 15, 2012, through Sub Pop in the United States, Bella Union in Europe, Mistletone Records in Australia, and Arts & Crafts in Mexico. The entire album was composed, written and performed by the duo, with assistance from Daniel Franz, who contributed on live drums. Alongside the duo, the album was produced by Chris Coady, who works with them for the second time, following his contributions on their third studio album, Teen Dream (2010).
The album was written over two years of touring and sound checks, beginning March 2011, later being recorded twice; demos were composed by the duo at their practice space in Baltimore, later beginning its recording process in 2011 at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, which took a period of seven to nine weeks to accomplish. Recorded on a 24-track analog tape, the duo chose to record in Texas after being interested in the area while resting there during a tour. The album's mixing was done at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. A dream pop record, the duo continued to add live drums to their song arrangements for Bloom, supplementing their drum machine rhythms, although material within the album has a more darker sound than Teen Dream and themes revolving around death and revival.
Bloom was mainly supported by its two singles, "Myth" and "Lazuli", as well as a set of music videos, a supporting summer and fall tour and Forever Still, a short film featuring live performances of songs from the album, which was released the following year. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week, earning the duo their highest-charting album on the chart; it also charted within the top 20 in six other countries. Upon release, the album was met with praise among contemporary music critics, many whom complimented its instrumental arrangements, while some additionally considered it the duo's best album; it was named as one of the best albums of 2012 by several publications, including Consequence, Obscure Sound, Pitchfork, PopMatters and Under the Radar.
Background
Beach House in 2009.
In 2009, Beach House began writing and recording their third studio album, Teen Dream, which took about nine months to complete.[1] In the midst of doing so, they were offered a contract signing with American record label Sub Pop on September of that year, whose cash infusion allowed the duo to work with a producer, Chris Coady, who would then contribute on production for the album.[1][2] This marked their departure from Carpark Records, where they released their first two studio albums.[2] Despite Teen Dream being leaked on the internet later that same year,[3] it was released through Sub Pop on January 26, 2010, becoming their first album release through the label.[4][5] It was met with critical acclaim upon release,[6] as well as commercial success, selling over 137,000 units by May 2012, according to SoundScan.[2]
In 2011, guitarist Alex Scally stated that, as soon as they finish touring for Teen Dream, him and lead vocalist Victoria Legrand were going to "wait for the writing process [of their next album] to be really exciting and inspired".[7] That same year, while touring, they have also had thoughts about working on their fourth studio album, revealing that they have already written a few songs for it.[8] On February 2012, it was reported that the duo's fourth studio album would drop in May 15, of the same year; its alleged tracklist was revealed and the album was reportedly titled Bloom.[a] The duo would release the track "Myth" on March 7, 2012;[12] along with this release, they would confirm the album's release date and tracklist the next day, with "Myth" serving as its lead single.[5][13] Months before its release, Beach House were offered a deal to distribute Bloom at Starbucks, to which they felt uncomfortable with and rejected the deal.[2][14][15]
Writing and recording
Orchards surrounding Sonic Ranch (pictured), where Bloom was recorded within a seven-week period in 2011.
Beach House had some ideas for Bloom after they finished recording Teen Dream and wrote the album "between countless sound checks and myriad experiences during two years of tour".[13][16] Like their previous albums, they began writing Bloom in their hometown, Baltimore, in March 2011.[17][16] Essentially, they recorded the entire album twice;[18][15] the first time, they recorded several songs as demos in their practice space in Baltimore, and then, as soon as the duo finished touring in support of Teen Dream, they began recording at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas,[19] in which Chris Coady again handled production and engineering.[18] The entire album was recorded on a 24-track analog tape, and the duo bought their own instruments to the recording sessions, avoiding the usage of the studio's provided instruments.[18][17] Recorded within a period of seven to nine weeks,[16][20] they chose to record in Texas after being captivated by the area while resting there during a tour.[21]Bloom was mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[2][18]
The song title for "Myth", the album's lead single, originated from the word "Myths" being written on Legrand's notebook; she additionally stated that the song "is a beautiful journey of what it takes to make something and to create something, and the vastness of that".[22] "Wild" and "Other People" were previously performed on live shows in 2011.[23] Writing "Lazuli", Legrand said that the word "had a real imagination to it", and continued, "I had written it down a while ago and always thought I'd love for this word to be in the Beach House world".[14] Legrand also stated that "The Hours" is "almost a saga" and that "it has a really wild, imaginative force to it".[24] "On the Sea" was one of the duo's favorite songs recorded from the album, with Legrand stating that it "was like a trip" and Scally recalling that it "had no drums and was based on a repeating chord progression".[25] "Irene", the album's closing track, was recorded in one take.[17] According to Scally, the song was originally intended to repeat and fade out, but they "hadn't thought much about the arc of the feeling in that song" and they "just kept jamming".[26] Legrand also described the recording of the song as "a special moment for [them]".[24]
"Wherever You Go", the album's hidden track, was written during the Teen Dream recording sessions, but wasn't finished up until the Bloom sessions; the duo stated that they "always loved this song but thought it sounded too much like [their] old music".[27] Scally explained that they did not want it to be part of the album, instead serving as "a wink at the end of the record".[28] Another song written during the Bloom sessions was "Equal Mind", which was not included on the album, instead being released as the B-side to "Lazuli" because it "did not fit" on the album and after realizing that it had instrumental similarities to "Other People", specifically its tempo.[17][27] Built around a piano loop recorded around this time, "Saturn Song" was another song being worked on during the sessions, which later saw an official release as part of the compilation album The Space Project (2014).[29] These three tracks were later included on the band's compilation album B-Sides and Rarities (2017).[27][30][31]
Music and lyrics
Bloom is a dream pop album.[20] The duo hinted that Bloom would feature a darker sound than Teen Dream, while they also wanted it to be similar to albums such as The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), The Cure's Disintegration (1989) and Depeche Mode's Violator (1990).[32][20] Zachary Houle of PopMatters detailed the usage of natural soundscapes as transitions for most of the songs on the album, including sounds of birds chirping and cars passing by.[33] Thematically and lyrically, the album revolves around death and revival.[34]
Opening Bloom with "Myth", it begins with a simple cowbell beat,[35] arpeggiated keys and a build-up of live drums,[36] along with a bass synth that begins playing before Legrand starts singing about 45 seconds in,[37] "Drifting in and out, you see the road you're on".[35][38] "Wild" is a mid-tempo[39] track centered around a 3 4 time drum beat, with Legrand ending her chorus with "Go on pretending".[40] Titled after and lyrically revolving around the metamorphic rock,[41] "Lazuli" begins with arpeggiated keys and synth strings,[42] featuring overlapping vocals at the end of the track.[35][43] "Other People" and its lyrics are thought to surround a failed relationship.[42] "The Hours" features "glorious and angelic multi-tracked female sighs" at the beginning of the track, similar to those of the 2010 track "Zebra".[33]
"Troublemaker" consists of lyrics surrounding the oddities of nostalgia and memory.[42] "New Year" features a line of shoegaze-like guitars,[44] including lyrics that are centered around someone coming to terms of loss.[41] "Wishes" is centered around a synth pad and programmed drum machines, with Scally performing a guitar solo about two minutes in.[40] Centered around a chord progression and no drums,[25] "On the Sea" begins with "a gently strummed series of acoustic guitar chords" and a "saloon-like" piano.[33] Finalizing the album with "Irene", a single guitar note and a "steadfast" drum beat is repeated in the middle of the song,[45] with Legrand subsequently repeating "It's a strange paradise" persistently in the song's outro, then going into a six-minute silence before its hidden track "Wherever You Go" plays, which relies on a sound reminiscent of a steel guitar.[20][33]
On February 2012, the entirety of Bloom was leaked on the internet, with Legrand recalling that their previous studio albums were also leaked in the past.[35][6] On March 8, 2012, the release dates for the album were officially announced; it was slated for a May 14 release in Europe through Bella Union, May 15 in North America though Sub Pop and Arts & Crafts México and May 18 in Australia though Mistletone.[13] On May 6, 2012, the entirety of Bloom was streamed in its entirety on NPR Music.[46] The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week; it became the duo's best selling album on the chart.[47] It also debuted at number 15 on the UK Albums Chart,[48][49] further debuting within the top 20 in six other countries, which include Belgium's Flanders region (10),[50]Canada (16),[51]Denmark (8),[52]Ireland (10),[53]Norway (5),[54] and Portugal (10).[55]
Supporting US tour dates for the album were also announced, with its start date being on May 4, 2012, at Charlottesville, and its end date on July 23, 2012 in New York City.[13] Soon after touring, dates for a supporting international fall tour, marketed as the Frightened Eyes tour, were announced, commencing on September 13, 2012, in Richmond, Virginia, and concluding on November 19, 2012, in Amsterdam.[56][57] Aside from touring, the duo have also performed songs from Bloom on various shows; they performed "Myth" on Late Show with David Letterman on May 18, 2012.[58] They later performed the song on Later... with Jools Holland on May 22, 2012, performing "Lazuli" a week later.[59] On July 24, 2012, they performed "Wild" and "Wishes" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[60]
Singles and music videos
On March 7, 2012, Beach House released the lead single from Bloom, "Myth", on their website for free download.[61][62] The single garnered acclaim from music critics, who considered it another fascinating evolution in the duo's musical style.[12][63] On April 12, 2023, the track was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting a total of 500,000 units sold in the United States.[64] On April 13, 2012, Dutch radio station 3voor12 released the album's second single "Lazuli" onto their website.[65] It was later released as a Record Store Day single on April 21, 2025, which included "Equal Mind" as its B-side.[66] On June 6, 2012, the music video for "Lazuli", directed by Allen Cordell, was released.[67] On November 14, 2012, the duo released the accompanying music video for "Wild", featuring video direction from Johan Renck.[68]
On January 1, 2013, New Year's Day, the official video for "New Year" was released, which features time-lapse video recordings of the album's recording sessions; the duo explained its concept, "It’s more of a home video thing, not a music video... we just thought these moments and the memories they involve fit this song".[48] On February 4, 2013, the duo released Forever Still, a short film containing performances of four songs from the album throughout El Paso and Tornillo, Texas, where they recorded the album.[69][70] On March 19, 2013, the duo released the music video for the track "Wishes", which features a cameo appearance from Ray Wise, who is seen performing the song at a football game's halftime show.[71] Directed by Eric Wareheim of comedy duo Tim and Eric,[72] it was voted number seven in Rolling Stone's "10 Best Music Videos of 2013" list.[73]
Packaging and title
The cover art for Bloom was designed from a photograph taken inside Mexico City International Airport (pictured in 2011) by the duo.
On March 20, 2012, the official album cover for Bloom was revealed.[74] Designed by art director and designer Brian Roettinger, it shows a grid pattern of white dots against a black background.[75] The cover was created and originated from a photograph of the interior of Mexico City International Airport, taken by the duo while touring.[75] The duo kept a travelog of photos taken in different formats, including Polaroids and digital cameras, and gave a set of photos to Roettinger for the album's artwork, who wanted it to be "purely iconographic".[75] Roettinger also stated that, on physical versions of the album (vinyl and CD), the white parts of the front and back covers were embossed with six coats of glow-in-the-dark ink.[75] Two limited versions of Bloom on vinyl were also released, with one having white-colored vinyl records and the other having a "glow-in-the-dark" appearance.[2]
The album's title, Bloom, has a variety of meanings according to the duo in various interviews. Guitarist Alex Scally explained to Pitchfork that he and Legrand were thinking "bloom" and "doom", which was later summarized to "the bloom, the end of the bloom, and then coming back the next year".[14] Additionally, Legrand explained to The Line of Best Fit that the reason for choosing the title is "because of the incredible forces that are inside this record", further noting that "each song is bigger than on [Teen Dream] in terms of starting off in one place and ending up in another".[76] In a different interview with The Village Voice, she explained the title as an "abstraction of many feelings", continuing,
"To find a word or a set of words we felt curated the whole thing, Bloom was it. And it was based on feeling and just a belief in the word. It actually has more weight for me than it has an ethereal quality. It came about where it made sense. [...] For things to feel right, it definitely has to sit for a while and I think that's why it's not ethereal for me. I associate that word with fleeting or not having any substance, I don't know. [...] I'm just saying that for us there's a certain intensity with this record, and I think the word 'bloom' is an attempt at that."[16]
Bloom received critical praise from contemporary music critics.[85] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 45 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[78] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[77]
PopMatters' Zachary Houle gave the album a perfect score and praised it as "simply, in the most awe-inspired sense of the term, absolutely golden from end to end—a real treasure and an utter delight to experience every time you play it."[33] J. Pace of Under the Radar also praised the album, writing, "It's always a perfect pairing of nostalgia and wistfulness with these two [Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally], who serve up these completely affecting but somehow ethereal moods you can't quite put your finger on."[36]Pitchfork's Lindsay Zoladz gave the album a Best New Album designation and praised the interplay between Legrand and Scally, writing that the two "sound in perfect sync: his nimble riffs punctuate her long, drawn-out notes to add depth and layered rhythm to the tracks."[82] Harley Brown of Consequence of Sound stated that Bloom "culminates six years and three albums of anticipatory ache with subtlety and meticulous song placement that unfolds if you let it",[40] while BBC Music's Hari Ashurst felt that the album was the band's best work thus far.[43]
Will Hermes of Rolling Stone said that "the melodies, guitarscapes and thrift-shop organ swells make for exquisite comfort".[84] Zack Kotzer and David Greenwald of The A.V. Club gave the album an A−, saying "Bloom takes what worked before and intensifies it" and that with the record, "they have mastered their sultry formula".[44] Other reviews of Bloom were more mixed. Annie Zaleski of Alternative Press felt that the album did not possess "as many memorable hooks (or as many well-defined song structures)" as the band's previous album, Teen Dream, and that as a result, "the record tends to fade into the background and become something so indistinct that it's forgettable, even after multiple listens."[86] Maddy Costa of The Guardian criticized the album's lack of surprises, writing that "nothing happens to shatter the perfect surface, either within individual songs or across the album as a whole, and that might be Bloom's problem. It's beautiful, spectral, dreamy, but never makes your pulse quicken."[79]
Accolades
Bloom has appeared on many year-end lists of critics ranking the best albums of 2012, several of them including it in their top-10: Magnet and Under the Radar included Bloom at number three,[87][88]PopMatters and Obscure Sound at number four,[89][90]Consequence of Sound,[91]Gorilla vs. Bear,[92] and Pitchfork at number seven.[93] Further, the latter publication added the album on their list of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far, appearing at number 53.[94]Stereogum and Rolling Stone listed the album at #27 and #28 respectively,[95][96] with the latter saying "Languid lead singer Victoria Legrand has some dark stuff on her mind – mortality and ruin keep bubbling to the surface of the Baltimore act's fourth LP...But you'd hardly know it from the blissful way she lets her voice blend with the softly bobbing organ chords and arpeggiated guitars."[96]Rolling Stone also named the song "Other People" the 19th best song of 2012.[97]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Victoria Legrand; all music composed and arranged by Alex Scally and Legrand with assistance from Daniel Franz.
1 2 Colombi, François (March 16, 2012). "Myth: le nouveau single de Beach House"[Myth: Beach House's new single]. Toute La Culture (in French). A la sortie de Teen Dream en 2010, les critiques avaient été plus qu'élogieuses pour le duo Beach House.[When Teen Dream was released in 2010, critics were more than complimentary for the duo Beach House.]
1 2 Hochgesand, Stefan (November 20, 2015). "Ein Interview mit Beach House"[An interview with Beach House]. Tip (in German). Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
↑ Souza, Gabriella (May 29, 2015). "New Album, Tour In Store For Beach House". Baltimore. Retrieved May 16, 2025. [Depression Cherry] is Beach House's fifth album and their previous release Bloom received plenty of praise when it debuted in 2012.
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