Beach House - Beach House (2006)

You have two ears and a heart, right? So use them and listen to this gem! Beach House. Man oh man. Beach House is a dream pop band that only has two wonderfully talented members: Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. On this album, (and the rest of them) Victoria takes care of the vocals/organ/keyboard/drum programming and Alex is in charge of the guitars/additional keyboards/drum programming/backup vocals. Basically, these two spilt the duties pretty evenly. Anyways, this is their debut album and arguably their best one too. It has a dreamy feel to it, especially since Victoria's vocals sound like she recorded the songs while she was sleepy/just woken up. Her voice is a little on the low side, but she croons so beautifully. Like she can probably sing anyone to sleep in a matter of seconds. The production on here is soaked in reverb and has a sort of "openness" to it. One of the funniest but most accurate ways I've heard someone describe the way the album sounds came from my brother-in-law. He said, "It kind of sounds like churchy-type music made by indie people.". Besides that "churchy" sound, the album kinda sounds like a series of somewhat haunting lullabies. Not in a bad way though. The songs just sort of have this kinda creepy vibe to them. Or even like a longing-type vibe. Something you'd play for someone you've missed. Idk. There's honestly no bad tracks on this album. It's pretty fucking good from start to finish. This is probably best to listen to while on a long trip somewhere, a cold winter day, or when you just wanna lounge around with your significant other. So just kick back, relax, and drift away....

P.S.: "cyber fox" and I have agreed that this truly is Beach House's best album. See for yourself.

Standout Tracks: Saltwater, Tokyo Witch, Master Of None, Childhood, Lovelier Girl

The Radio Dept. - Lesser Matters (2003)

This is my 2nd favorite album of all time. Just sayin'. Alright, lets get into it. The Radio Dept. is a pretty special dream pop band hailing from Sweden. And trust me when I say that the Swedes definitely are ahead of the music game. These guys specifically. Lesser Matters is their debut album that they released back in '03 to pretty good acclaim. It found it's way in a couple of top 10 lists and shit. I barely discovered this in late 2015 and it instantly grew on me. I can honestly say that it's one of the best contructed albums that exists tbh. I honestly have this on repeat way more than I should have. It's the perfect mixture of dream pop and shoegaze. Johan Duncanson and Martin Larsson are really talented musicians/songwriters. In my opinion, they belong on the same list as Lennon/McCartney and Morrissey/Marr. Sonically, Lesser Matters is a wonderful mesh of distorted guitars & synths with a hybrid of live and programmed drums. Like most shoegaze songs, they can get pretty loud but there are a good amount that are mellow & relaxing. Almost every song is wrapped in a very warm and inviting fuzz with splashes of reverb here & there. Lyrically, it also shines and shows you how much of a top-tier album this truly is. Everything from depression, failed relationships, intimacy issues, nostalgia, happiness, and gay experiences is covered beautifully on here. Like if I wanted to, I can actually do a track-by-track analysis but that would take too much space haha. Just trust me when I say this album is the bee's-knees. Whether it's for a long drive at any hour of the day, something to lay on the floor and listen to, or just to have as nice background music, this album is pretty much perfect for any occasion. That being said, this album has definitely left its mark on me and I truly believe everyone else can benefit from it.

Standout Tracks: The whole album.

My Personal Favorites: Too Soon, Where Damage Isn't Already Done, Keen On Boys, It's Been Eight Years, 1995