Depression Cherry is the fifth studio album from Baltimore dream-pop darlings Beach House. After a fairly well-sized break from the creative world Depression Cherry feels quite different; a little less captivating and encompassing as some of the earlier stuff.
They still convey the velvety dream space song well; but there isn’t much intensity and as the album goes on it is easy to forget it’s still playing. Victoria Legrand’s vocals are much more muted in the mix, so there isn’t as much there to grab you. The opening chords of the album spark a memory of Mercury Rev, which whilst not as kooky, is a fairly apt comparison sonically. But the lack of Legrand’s stunning voice leaves the album feeling a tad wishy-washy.
Opener 'Levitation' and later track 'Space Song' are stand-outs, but by the second half of the album seems a little lost. Depression Cherry is still beautiful work, sonically lovely with wonderfully creative use of instruments, but it has fallen awry of it’s predecessors leaving it seem as if it’s missing a certain je ne sais quoi. It is by no means bad, but doesn’t grab you on the everyday listen - however I would like to experiment with listening to it whilst on a train going through the woods at night.
