Lo-fi will never go out of style, there will always be ironic if not reactionary reasons for bands to dirty up their guitars and produce within and below a haze of fuzz. What this broad genre often lacks is a commitment to songwriting, whether it be Guided By Voices one hundred second musical spasms that always leave me wanting more (see: A Salty Salute) or LA newcomers No Age who seem preoccupied with reacting to the times with noise.

Enter Beach House.

A part of Baltimore's growing musical output (Panda Bear, Dan Deacon, Wilderness, Entrance...) Beach House relies on Alex Scally's authentic lo-fi instrumentals with Victoria Legrand's soulfully beautiful pop vocals. This winter's release of Devotion was a large step forward from the group's self-titled release in 2006. They seem to be embracing the gift of pop-soul that they clearly have in abundance, while backing slowly away from staunch lo-fi, smokestack billowing distortion. It isn't the kind of music you want to listen to at your beach house, but worth a chance.

Beach House: 'Heart of Chambers' (2008)

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