Once Twice Melody
An expansive double album of cinematic dream pop, marrying the duo's signature vintage synthesizers with sweeping live string arrangements.
An expansive double album of cinematic dream pop, marrying the duo's signature vintage synthesizers with sweeping live string arrangements.
Maximalist double album
Live strings swell against the hiss of vintage synthesizers, wrapping you in a heavy, velvet-dark warmth. Recorded in home studios and quiet rooms, these eighteen tracks feel like wandering through a vast, dimly lit cathedral at midnight. It is a slow, lush drift of sound, entirely self-produced and thick with stardust.
The writing leans far further into love romantic than the rest of the catalogue.
Critics warmly embraced the album as a comforting yet ambitious expansion of the duo's signature dream-pop, widely praising its sweeping, cinematic textures and ethereal songwriting. Reviewers broadly admired how the music balances their dependable consistency with playful, trippy arrangements, showcasing a band continuing to gently elevate their artistry.
“With panoramic proportions and gleaming finishes, the band’s sprawling eighth album luxuriates in the rhapsody of sensation itself. You don’t listen to Once Twice Melody, you dissolve into it”Read review
“There’s a lesson here: this band can take their aesthetics as far as they like, but they’ll always be just that”Read review
“Dream-pop pros once again trace the ethereal on sweeping 8th LP”Read review
“Though undoubtedly a beautiful set of tracks, Once Twice Melody suffers from its length – almost eighty-five minutes is hefty for a listen in one sitting – and the occasional clashes in instrumentation and vocals, with sequenced drums and synthesisers taking away from the warmth of Legrand’s voice”Read review
“The Baltimore duo’s eighth record pairs trippy imagery with playful, cinematic sounds that herald the start of a bold, unpredictable new chapter”Read review
“A decade since their magnum opus, Beach House continue elevating their artistry on Once Twice Melody”Read review
“Beach House are always tinkering around the edges of their sonic universe, getting darker, weirder, subtler, and more expansive. They do that on Once Twice Melody, and the payoff is enormous”Read review
“Another glittering reassurance of the band’s singular presence, another chance to bask in what it is they do so well. There are far worse gifts to be given than consistency”Read review
“Released gradually since November, the Baltimore duo’s rich, roaming eighth album was worth the wait”Read review
“Despite some missteps, the band’s new album proves Beach House has more up its sleeve than subdued melodies”Read review
“There are moments here that rank alongside Beach House’s finest work”Read review
“Equally comforting and creative moments like this give Once Twice Melody the heart to match its ambition, and the way different songs stand out on each listen reaffirms that Beach House’s consistency is the opposite of predictable”Read review
Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →
