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, arranged and performed by the duo, with assistance from Daniel Franz, who contributed on live drums, with lead vocalist Victoria Legrand writing all of the tracks. 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).
Bloom was written within over two years of touring and sound checks for Teen Dream, beginning March 2011, with some songs being written years prior. The album was recorded twice; demos were composed by the duo at their practice space in Baltimore and they later began recording them 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 captivated in the area while resting at El Paso during a tour. Additional vocals were recorded at Magpie Cage in Baltimore and the album's mixing was handled at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The album was leaked in February 2012.
Musically, Bloom has been described by critics as a dream pop record, with the duo further leaning away from their initial lo-fi music style found on their earlier studio albums, continuing to add live drums to their song arrangements and supplementing their drum machine rhythms. Various critics also noted a few shoegaze and new wave influences within several tracks on the album, while the band stated that material within the album has a darker sound than Teen Dream and themes revolving around heartbreak, longing, death and lost love. The album was met with praise among contemporary music critics upon release, many whom complimented its instrumental arrangements, with some additionally considering 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.
Initially, Bloom would be distributed at various Starbucks stores, with the duo declining the deal. It was mainly supported by its two singles, "Myth" and "Lazuli", the former which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2023, and received critical acclaim upon their respective releases. It was also supported with a set of music videos, a supporting summer tour and an international fall tour, marketed as the Frightened Eyes Tour, and Forever Still, a short film featuring live performances of songs from the album, which was released in 2013. 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.
Beach House began writing and recording their third studio album in 2009, which would serve as a follow-up to their second studio album Devotion (2008).[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 would allow the duo to work with a producer, Chris Coady, who would then contribute on production for the album.[1][2] With this deal, they also announced their third studio album Teen Dream and its slated release through the label,[3] marking 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,[4] it saw an official release through Sub Pop on January 26, 2010, becoming their first album release through the label.[5] It was met with critical acclaim upon release,[6][7][8] as well as commercial success, selling over 137,000 units by May 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2]
In 2011, guitarist Alex Scally stated that, as soon as Beach House finish touring for Teen Dream, they were going to wait for the writing procedure of their next album to be inspired.[8] 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.[9] In January 2012, a photo of the band was published on the Electric Lady Studios Facebook page with the caption "Just wrapped the new Beach House record in Studio A... such a rad record // band," raising speculation that their fourth studio album was completed there.[10] The photo was later taken down, with Chris Cantalini of Gorilla vs. Bear revealing on Twitter that Sub Pop told them that Electric Lady "jumped the gun" when publishing the photo.[11] In February 2012, it was reported that the duo's fourth studio album would drop on May 15 of the same year; its alleged tracklist was revealed and the album was reportedly titled Bloom.[a] On March 7, 2012, the band would release the single "Myth" on their website.[7][15] The next day, they would confirm the album's official release date and track list, with "Myth" serving as its lead single.[16][17]
Recording
Orchards surrounding Sonic Ranch (pictured), where Bloom was recorded within a period of seven to nine weeks in 2011.
Beach House had planned some ideas for Bloom after they finished recording Teen Dream, writing the album in between various sound checks and "myriad" experiences while on tour for two years.[16][18] In March 2011, like they have done with their previous albums, they began writing Bloom in their hometown, Baltimore.[18][19] Lead vocalist Victoria Legrand stated that there were at least 30 ideas for Bloom, with only 10 of those going towards the album.[18] Some songs were also written years prior, stating that they have continued writing them since then.[20] After writing a quantity of songs for the album, they recorded several demos in their practice space in their hometown.[21][22] Thereafter, as soon as the duo finished touring in support of Teen Dream, they began recording the album at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas,[‡ 1] in which Chris Coady again handled production, as well as engineering and mixing,[21] and Daniel Franz providing live drums and percussion throughout.[23][24]
When the band arrived to Sonic Ranch, they were surprised to spot that it "almost exactly the same dimensions as Dreamland," where they recorded their previous album Teen Dream (2010).[21] Approaching the recording process through the "all-work-and-no-play" method,[25] 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.[19][21] Coady also placed several distant microphones in the recording room to record the spacious guitar sounds.[21] Recorded within a period of seven to nine weeks,[18][26] or within two months,[25] they chose to record in Texas after being captivated by the area while staying at a motel in El Paso during a tour.[23] They also stated that they recorded there for "very unglamorous, technical" reasons, explaining that "it's not just about going someplace cool to record just because it’s cool."[25] Additional vocals for Bloom were recorded at Magpie Cage in Baltimore,[24] with mixing also being handled at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, where it was initially rumored in January 2012 that Beach House had worked on the album,[10] and Sonic Ranch.[2][21]
"Wild" and "Other People" were previously performed on live shows in 2011.[27] "Wherever You Go", the album's hidden track, was written during the Teen Dream recording sessions, though it wasn't finished up until the Bloom sessions; the duo stated that they loved the song but thought it was reminiscent of their previous style of music.[‡ 2] 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;[19][‡ 2] initially, it was confirmed that the song would "never exist" in a digital format.[‡ 3] 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).[28] These three tracks were later included on the band's compilation album B-Sides and Rarities (2017).[‡ 2][29][30]
Composition
We wanted [Bloom] to feel like a story and to have a certain feeling at the beginning, middle and an end. It’s all based on feeling so maybe it wouldn’t be a good sequence for someone else but for us it’s what felt right.
— Alex Scally, on sequencing the tracks on the album (Wondering Sound, 2012)[31]
Bloom has been principally labelled as a dream pop album,[26][25][32] with a few secondary musical influences found throughout the album being denoted as shoegaze,[33][34][35]indie pop,[36] and new wave.[36] The duo hinted that Bloom would feature a darker sound than Teen Dream, while they also wanted it to have a "similar vision" to albums such as The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), The Cure's Disintegration (1989) and Depeche Mode's Violator (1990).[37][26][32]Bloom also sees the duo leaning away from their lo-fi style and ambient influences found in their earlier studio albums, and more towards "high-grade" pop.[38][39] With each song on the album being at least four minutes long,[40] it also features more incorporation of live drums, like their previous album, Teen Dream (2010).[41] Its structures have also been described to have "humming synthesizers, luminous guitar tones,"[35] with the latter's sound and rhythm throughout being described as jangly,[42] as well as "meandering pre-programmed tempo, freshly crushed amorphous drones and [...] delicately twinkling [melodies]."[43]
Thematically and lyrically, Bloom revolves around heartbreak, lost love, death, revival, longing and the inability of moving on;[40][44][45] Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork stated that the album features more "straightforward" lyrics, "yet they're somehow suggestive of larger things."[46] Though songs from the album are not "stripped down", a majority of the instrumental structures within Bloom are "uncomplicated and meticulously constructed".[‡ 1] Michell Eloy of Paste noted that the structural elements of the band's sound remain the same on the album, adding that "they're layered and arranged in a way that amplifies the band’s distinct sound" and pointing out its polished production.[39] Heather Phares of AllMusic also stated that its "shimmering remoteness enhances the album's philosophical, searching approach to love and loss."[47] Some critics also noted the usage of field recordings that are used to seamlessly transition a majority of the songs on the album, including sounds of birds chirping and cars passing by.[36][48] Regarding the album's narrative in an interview with Wondering Sound, Scally explained that listeners should be able to construct their own narratives based on how they hear the album, further noting that controlling people's reactions serves no purpose.[31] He also stated in an interview with The Line of Best Fit that the songs "encompass a much bigger slice of life."[32]
"Myth", the lead single and first track from Bloom, features a key change found in the middle of the song, as well as "layers of echo" applied to Legrand's voice.[15][49]
Commencing Bloom with "Myth," it begins with a simple cowbell beat,[40] arpeggiated keys and a build-up of live drums,[50] along with a bass synth that begins playing before Legrand starts singing the first verse about 45 seconds in, "Drifting in and out, you see the road you're on."[47][51] The song additionally features a key change after its two verses, along with a guitar solo as its outro, which uses a fusion of distortion and delay effects.[15][52] According the Legrand, the song title originated from the word "myths" being written on her 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".[53] "Wild" is a mid-tempo, "New Wave feel" track,[54][36] described as "brazen [and] epic,"[46] centered around a triple metre drum beat, "epic shoegazing" guitars,[33] and a "buzzing" synth,[55] as well as reverb,[56] with Legrand ending her choruses with "Go on pretending".[57] Titled after and lyrically revolving around the metamorphic rock, lapis lazuli,[39] "Lazuli" begins with "Casio-like,"[36] "twinkling" arpeggiated keys and synth strings,[33][55] featuring overlapping vocals and harmonies within the track's finale.[40][58][59] While writing the song, Legrand said that the word "lazuli" seemed to have an insight, and also stated that she had always considered the word to be part of the "Beach House world."[60]
An indie pop-influenced number,[36] "Other People" features a "vaporous" organ and lyrics which are thought to surround a failed relationship.[33] The track was described as a "shoegaze Fleetwood Mac" track by Alex Denney of NME.[34] "The Hours" features a "chintzy" drum machine,[34] as well as a "glorious and angelic multi-tracked" female choir of sighs at the beginning of the track, similar to those of the band's 2010 track "Zebra", before going into a captivating composition with "janglesome" guitar runs.[36][42] Legrand stated that the track is "almost a saga" and that "it has a really wild, imaginative force to it".[61] Zack Kotzer and David Greenwald of The A.V. Club stated that it "shifts with ease from a driving riff to strolling arpeggios."[35] "Troublemaker", which features Legrand's heavy breathing,[57] consists of lyrics surrounding the oddities of nostalgia and memory, additionally revolving around a warning of bad romance.[33][46] "New Year" is a "haunting"[34] track which features a line of shoegaze-like guitars,[35] including lyrics that are centered around someone coming to terms of loss.[39] "Wishes" is a mid-tempo and "quietly spectacular" track, which is reminiscent of "classic 50s pop,"[46][62] centered around a synth pad and programmed drum machines, with Scally performing a guitar solo about two minutes in.[57]Annie Zaleski of Alternative Press likened the song to Cyndi Lauper's cover song "All Through the Night",[63] while Mike Powell of Spin stated that the song, along with "Myth" and "Troublemaker", are supported by programmed rhythm numbers which are "eerily heavy [and] almost inevitable."[54]
"On the Sea" is a ballad that begins with a progression of "gently strummed" acoustic guitar chords,[34][44] with a minimalist "saloon-like" piano that slowly fades in.[62][36] It is one of the band's favorite songs recorded from the album, with Legrand stating that it felt like a "trip" and Scally recalling that it doesn't involve the usage of any drums and was solely based on a recapitulating chord progression.[41] The song's instrumental layers finally begin to fade out, ending with "windswept" sound effects, which are used to transition into the final track from the album, "Irene,"[36] which was described by Jon Pareles of The New York Times as a "majestic march."[64] In the middle of the track, a single guitar note and a "steadfast" drum beat is steadily repeated,[64] with Legrand subsequently repeating "It's a strange paradise" persistently in the song's outro.[65][34] According to the band, the song was recorded in one take,[19] while according to Scally, it was originally intended to repeat and fade out, but they did not end up considering the "arc of the feeling" found in the track and continued "jamming".[23] Legrand also described the recording of the song as a special moment for them.[61] "Irene" then goes into a six-minute silence before its hidden track "Wherever You Go" plays at around the 13:20 mark,[55] which relies on a sound reminiscent of a steel guitar.[26][36] Scally explained that they did not want the hidden track to be part of the album, and instead serves as a "wink" at the end of the album.[66]
Months before releasing Bloom, Beach House were offered a deal to distribute the album at various Starbucks stores, to which they felt uncomfortable with and rejected the deal.[b] At around this time, the duo had reflected on their involvement in an overabundant amount of live sessions and photo shoots, with the outcome being "far below [their] personal artistic standards", instead deciding that they would only partake in persuasive activities that they were able to "control artistically and give substantial energy".[‡ 4] In 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.[40][6] The leaked version of the album featured low-quality versions of tracks, which were also shortened and sped-up, with Scally asserting that they wanted to release the album in a specific way.[67]
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.[16] On May 6, 2012, Bloom was streamed in its entirety on NPR Music.[68][69] On May 18, 2012, it was initially projected that the album would debut at number 10 on the US Billboard 200.[70] It ultimately debuted at number seven on the chart, selling 41,000 copies in its first week; it became the duo's best selling album on the chart and their first top-10 entry.[71] It also debuted at number 15 on the UK Albums Chart,[72][73] further debuting within the top 20 in six other countries, which include Belgium's Flanders region (10),[74]Canada (16),[75]Denmark (8),[76]Ireland (10),[77]Norway (5),[78] and Portugal (10).[79] On April 12, 2023, "Myth", the album's lead single, received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting a total of 500,000 units sold in the United States, being the album's first song to receive a certification.[80]
Live performances
On March 8, 2012, alongside the album's announcement, supporting tour dates in North America 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.[16] 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.[81][82] Aside from touring, the duo have also performed songs from Bloom on various talk shows; they performed "Myth" on Late Show with David Letterman on May 18, 2012,[81] and on Later... with Jools Holland on May 22, 2012, performing "Lazuli" a week later.[83] On July 2, 2012, they performed a live in-studio session on KCRW's radio program Morning Becomes Eclectic.[84] On July 24, 2012, they performed "Wild" and "Wishes" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[85]
Singles and music videos
On March 7, 2012, Beach House released the lead single from Bloom, "Myth", on their website as a free download.[15][86] The single garnered acclaim from music critics, who considered it another fascinating evolution in the duo's musical style.[15][87] On April 13, 2012, Dutch radio station 3voor12 released the album's second single "Lazuli" onto their website.[88] It was later released as a 7-inch single on blue vinyl on April 21, 2025, Record Store Day, which was limited to 2,400 copies.[59][89] The single release also included "Equal Mind" as its B-side.[90] On June 6, 2012, the official music video for "Lazuli" was released.[91] Directed by Allen Cordell, the video features "shadowy" perspectives of three strangers, with one of the environmental surroundings being a "psychedelic, outer-space realm".[82] On November 14, 2012, the band released the accompanying music video for "Wild".[92] Featuring video direction from Johan Renck, the video consists of a series of "intense moments," including violent and sexual scenes.[93]
On January 1, 2013, New Year's Day, the official video for "New Year" was released, which features time-lapse video recordings, which were filmed by Manuel Calderon,[94] of the album's recording sessions at Sonic Ranch.[72] 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".[95] On February 4, 2013, the duo released Forever Still, a short film containing performances of four songs from the album ("Wild," "The Hours," "Wishes" and "Irene") throughout El Paso and Tornillo, Texas, where they recorded the album.[96][97] Taking inspiration from Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii concert film, the band wanted to perform the songs in an abnormal setting without losing the spirit of their music and felt that the songs would better resonate in a transcendent scenery.[‡ 4][98] On March 19, 2013, the duo released the music video for the track "Wishes", which was directed by Eric Wareheim of comedy duo Tim and Eric.[‡ 5][99] The video features actor Ray Wise, who is seen performing the song at the halftime show of a surreal sports game.[100]Rolling Stone listed it as the seventh best music video of 2013,[101] while Pitchfork added it on their "Top Music Videos of 2013" list.[102]
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 artwork for Bloom was revealed.[103] Designed by art director and designer Brian Roettinger,[104] the artwork depicts a black-and-white polka dot pattern.[105] The artwork originated from a photograph of the interior of Mexico City International Airport, taken by the duo while on tour.[104] In order to create the artwork, the duo kept a travelog of photographs 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".[104] 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.[104] Two limited variants of the vinyl records were also released, with one being white-colored and the other being a "glow-in-the-dark" version.[2]
The album's title, Bloom, has a variety of meanings according to the duo in various interviews. Legrand stated that the word "bloom" became the album title halfway through its creation process, noting that around that stage they were able to see the immensity of the album and comprehend an "area of feelings and intensities and dangers and twists and turns and gaps."[106] She also explained to The Line of Best Fit that their purpose of choosing the title was because of the "incredible forces" found within the album, adding that each track is more immensive "than [the tracks] on [Teen Dream] in terms of starting off in one place and ending up in another".[32] In a different interview with The Village Voice, she explained the title as an "abstraction of many feelings" and that it was derived from feeling and a hypothesis of the word.[18] Scally explained to Pitchfork that "the word ["bloom"] is like an object — we were thinking 'bloom,' 'doom.' It encapsulated tons: the bloom, the end of the bloom, and then coming back the next year.[60]
Bloom was met with critical praise from contemporary music critics upon release.[112][113] 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".[108] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[107]
Zachary Houle of PopMatters gave Bloom a perfect score and called it a "landmark" release, praising Beach House's technique of the verse–chorus form and recalling the entire album as "absolutely golden from end to end."[36] J. Pace of Under the Radar complimented the instrumental arrangements throughout and concluded that they "serve up these completely affecting but somehow ethereal moods you can't quite put your finger on."[50]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."[46] 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",[57] while BBC Music's Hari Ashurst felt that the album was the band's best work thus far.[58]
Will Hermes of Rolling Stone said that "the melodies, guitarscapes and thrift-shop organ swells make for exquisite comfort".[111] 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".[35] Mike Powell of Spin complimented the usage of drum machines and rhythmic styles throughout the album, calling it a "gorgeous, firm album with very little at stake."[54] 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."[63] 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."[65]
12Colombi, François (March 16, 2012). "Myth: le nouveau single de Beach House"[Myth: Beach House's new single]. Toute La Culture (in French). Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. 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.]
12Sanders, Courtney (January 17, 2011). "Beach House – Interview". Under the Radar (New Zealand). Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
12Hochgesand, 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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