Beach House — Norway

I love Beach House... love, love, LOVE. I first saw them in a tiny, tiny venue with shimmery spinning disco balls overhead and a water pattern projected at the stage. I added "It's Beautiful O'Clock" to my vocab after hearing Victoria say it on stage. I flew all the way to San Francisco to catch their Café du Nord gig just for the "Steak-And-Ale-turned-Swedish-Hall" factor. I nearly fell out of my seat when touring-drummer Graham Hill translated the subtle heartbeat drums of You Came To Me into an intense bass drum finale complete with hardcore cabasa shaking.

That being said, I absolutely do not like the choice of Norway for the iTunes Free Download of the Week. The 30-second clip sounds like someone stuck an old, skipping record player in a washing machine. It saddens me that many people will hear them for the first time through this track.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you've never heard Beach House, listen to You Came To Me before anything else.

Then listen to everything.

Then watch the new video Liz posted.

Then go see them live.

You're welcome.

The Wait is Over for new Beach House

After much hype, "Teen Dream," the eagerly-anticipated third record from Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House, is finally out today — and what an aptly-named, dreamy soundscape of an album it is. The companion DVD features videos for all 10 songs, each conceived by a different director. Check out the video for "Silver Soul," directed by Beach House's female half, Victoria Legrand (and with hula hoops!) here.

Beach House kicks off a U.S. tour March 26 in Washington, D.C.