Depression Cherry

Depression Cherry
Studio album by Beach House
Released August 28, 2015 (2015-08-28)
Recorded November 2014 – January 2015
Studio Studio in the Country
(Bogalusa, Louisiana)
Genre Dream pop
Length 44:45
Label Sub Pop
Producer
Beach House chronology
Bloom
(2012)		 Depression Cherry
(2015)		 Thank Your Lucky Stars
(2015)
Singles from Depression Cherry
  1. "Sparks"
    Released: July 1, 2015

Depression Cherry is the fifth studio album by American dream pop duo Beach House. It was co-produced by the group and Chris Coady, and was released on August 28, 2015 by Sub Pop. The album was recorded at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana from November 2014 to January 2015. Reacting to their dissatisfaction with using live drums on tour to play songs from their previous album, Bloom (2012), for Depression Cherry, the band returned to simpler song arrangements, similar to those of their first two studio albums. "Sparks" was released as the lead single on July 1. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics. Less than two months after releasing Depression Cherry, Beach House followed it up with their sixth album, Thank Your Lucky Stars.

Background and recording

After Beach House completed touring for their previous record Bloom (2012), the group took a six-month break.[1] Uncertain about their future, singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand said, "I didn't feel creative at all... I just thought well, maybe I'll never have another musical idea."[2] She added, "I just personally felt I needed a couple of months of just not doing anything, I didn't have thoughts."[1] Legrand found herself frustrated and limited creatively by the presence of a live drum set on tour to play Bloom's songs because of "the noise it creates and how much space it fills".[1] Guitarist Alex Scally concurred, saying, "There was a transparent feeling, [the songs] didn't feel as nuanced."[1]

Though some of Depression Cherry's musical ideas originated from 2012, Beach House wrote the majority of the record between autumn 2013 and 2014; "10:37" was one of the first songs to be written during this period.[3] The album was recorded at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana over two months,[4][5] from November 2014 to January 2015.[6] It was co-produced by Chris Coady, who worked on the band's previous two records, Teen Dream (2010) and Bloom.[7] Prior to joining the band in the studio, they sent him phone recordings of some of their in-progress songs.[3] For the song "Days of Candy", they hired eight singers from Pearl River Community College to create a 24-part choir.[4] After completing that song and "Levitation", the band knew they had the album's closing and opening tracks, respectively, and considered the record completed.[3] The album was mixed at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, except "Beyond Love", which was mixed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas.[8]

Promotion and release

On May 26, 2015, Beach House announced Depression Cherry along with tour dates supporting the album.[6][9] According to the band, the album is a return to the simpler style of dream pop from their first two albums. In a press release on the Sub Pop website, the group said:[10]

"In general, this record shows a return to simplicity, with songs structured around a melody and a few instruments, with live drums playing a far lesser role. With the growing success of Teen Dream and Bloom, the larger stages and bigger rooms naturally drove us towards a louder, more aggressive place; a place farther from our natural tendencies. Here, we continue to let ourselves evolve while fully ignoring the commercial context in which we exist."

Vinyl and compact disc copies of the album feature a cover lined with red velvet. A limited edition "Loser Edition" of the album was released on clear vinyl record.[11]

On July 1, 2015, Beach House released the album's lead single, "Sparks".[12] On August 19, nine days before the release of Depression Cherry, NPR Music made a stream of the album available online.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The A.V. ClubA–[16]
Entertainment WeeklyA–[17]
The Guardian[18]
NME5/10[19]
Pitchfork Media8.4/10[20]
Q[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Slant Magazine[23]
Spin8/10[24]

Depression Cherry received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
Readers' Top 50 Albums 2015
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015 2015
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. 

No. Title Length
1. "Levitation"   5:54
2. "Sparks"   5:21
3. "Space Song"   5:20
4. "Beyond Love"   4:25
5. "10:37"   3:48
6. "PPP"   6:08
7. "Wildflower"   3:39
8. "Bluebird"   3:55
9. "Days of Candy"   6:15
Total length:
 44:45

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Depression Cherry.[8]

Beach House
Additional personnel

  • Chris Bear – live drums (tracks 2, 6)
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Manuel Calderón – mixing (track 4)
  • Chris Coady – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 1-3, 5-9)
  • Jacob Cochran – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Mallory Cumberland – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Graham Hill - live drums, percussion (tracks 1, 3-5, 7-9)
  • Lydia Howard – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Ethan Martin – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Archie Rawls – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Brian Roettinger – design
  • Lane Stewart – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Lindsey Strahan – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Morgan Stratton – assistant engineering
  • David Tolomei – engineering
  • LaDona Tyson – vocal chorus (track 9)
  • Jay Wesley – assistant engineering
  • Shane Wesley – "all around dude" at Studio in the Country

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[31] 35
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[32] 20
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[33] 16
French Albums (SNEP)[34] 30
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 81
Irish Albums (IRMA)[36] 27
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[37] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[38] 12
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39] 37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[40] 24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] 58
UK Albums (OCC)[42] 17
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[43] 2
US Billboard 200[44] 8
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[45] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[46] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[47] 38

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Wright, Danny (August 24, 2015). "Perfect Moments: Beach House". DIY. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  2. ↑ Dick, Jonathan (August 25, 2015). "Beach House's Victoria Legrand on Minimalism, Commercialism and Depression Cherry". Paste. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Fink, Matt (August 28, 2015). "Beach House: Hear the Universe Interview". Under the Radar. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Mapes, Julian (July 30, 2015). "All the Feels: Beach House's Intangible Truth". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ Hampson, Gemma (August 25, 2015). "Deeper Connection: Beach House". Clash. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Case, Wesley (May 26, 2015). "Beach House to release new album, 'Depression Cherry,' in August". The Baltimore Sun. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  7. ↑ Reed, James (August 22, 2015). "Beach House stays true to its vision". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Depression Cherry (CD liner notes). Beach House. Sub Pop. 2015. SP1122.
  9. ↑ Brodsky, Rachel (May 26, 2015). "Beach House Announce New Album, ‘Depression Cherry’". Spin. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Depression Cherry by Beach House on Sub Pop Records". Sub Pop. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ Phillips, Amy (May 26, 2015). "Beach House Announce New Album Depression Cherry and World Tour". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  12. ↑ Claymore, Gabriela Tully (July 1, 2015). "Beach House – 'Sparks'". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  13. ↑ Thompson, Stephen (August 19, 2015). "First Listen: Beach House, Depression Cherry". NPR Music. NPR. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Reviews for Depression Cherry by Beach House". Metacritic. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  15. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Depression Cherry – Beach House". AllMusic. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ Warwick, Kevin (August 28, 2015). "Beach House’s latest is simple, immersive dream-pop". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ Renner Brown, Eric (August 28, 2015). "Depression Cherry by Beach House: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ Jonze, Tim (August 27, 2015). "Beach House: Depression Cherry review – the same dreampop, but different". The Guardian. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  19. ↑ Calvert, John (August 19, 2015). "Beach House – 'Depression Cherry'". NME. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  20. ↑ Greene, Jayson (August 18, 2015). "Beach House: Depression Cherry". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Beach House: Depression Cherry". Q (350): 111. September 2015.
  22. ↑ Hermes, Will (August 28, 2015). "Depression Cherry". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  23. ↑ Aspray, Benjamin (August 11, 2015). "Beach House: Depression Cherry". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  24. ↑ Joyce, Colin (August 25, 2015). "Review: Beach House, 'Depression Cherry'". Spin. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  25. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Readers' Poll Results 2015". Pitchfork. January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Albums of the Year 2015". Rough Trade. Rough Trade. November 25, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  28. ↑ Helman, Peter (December 1, 2015). "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Beach House – Depression Cherry" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Beach House – Depression Cherry" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Beach House – Depression Cherry" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Beach House – Depression Cherry" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  36. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 36, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  37. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track – Independent Albums: Week 36, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Beach House – Depression Cherry". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Beach House – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Beach House. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Beach House – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Beach House. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  46. ↑ "Beach House – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Beach House. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Independent Albums: Year End 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
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