On a chilly Sunday night in Boston, surfer rock met electro on stage at the Paradise Rock Club in the form of Beach House, the phenomenal band who is currently on tour in support of their new album, “Teen Dream.” Kicking things off with the haunting “Walk in the Park”, singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand waxed poetic about a past love. Accompanied by guitarist Alex Scally, the longhaired Legrand crooned how “in a matter of time, you will slip from my mind” as five sparkly, diamond shaped objects twirled around on stage. Long, shiny streamers that looked like jellyfish drifting through the water were draped from all the corners of the stage. Some people looked around in confusion, possibly wondering where the energy was, but the whole point of a Beach House show is escapism. The band provides a calm but ebullient retreat from everyday worries. While singing dreamy crowd pleasers like “Zebra” and “Norway” Legrand smiled knowingly; their two biggest hits off of Dream, the songs brought on an audience sing along. Legrand’s amazingly mysterious chanting completely drowned their voices out. As she sang “anyway you run, you run before us / black and white horse, arching among us” you couldn’t help but wonder where this angelic voice was coming from, spinning tales of romantic woe and distress. Equal parts smoky, otherworldly, entrancing, and velvety smooth, her vocals proved the perfect cure for the rainy-day blues of the outside world. Her only problem was her stage presence: after having seen concerts with Lady Gaga, Allison Mosshart (of The Kills and The Dead Weather), and Patti Smith, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something lacking in Beach House’s show. Albeit, their music is highly different than the three aforementioned artists: think The Beach Boys meets MGMT meets Fleet Foxes on a beach wearing hoodies. However much she was able to connect with her songs, with her head bobbing and feet stomping, Legrand never seemed altogether there. Perhaps the mysticism of her music had swept her away too, but nonetheless, Beach House’s nearly perfect show was the right way to start off a week.
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