BEACH HOUSE Q&A: Beach House’s Victoria Legrand on Her ‘Scrappy and Stubborn’ Band Article by Jillian Mapes Beach House make dreamy jams that could between tours to discuss the not-so- be described as effortlessly cool if they meteoric rise of Beach House, her qualms weren’t so damn complicated. Vocalist and with the music press and why her band keyboardist Victoria Legrand has a similarly will “always be kind of scrappy and stub- intricate way of talking; she weaves in and born.” out of tangents meticulously, cracking jokes along the way that contradict her solemn You and Alex have spoken presence onstage. extensively about making music for your- selves, first and foremost. But it has to feel Legrand describes Beach House as “early good that Bloom has been so well-re- on in the year,” mentioning that by the time ceived. 2013 is all said and done, she and bandmate Obviously, it’s great to know that your Alex Scally will have played about 100 more music is being listened to. I feel like we’ve shows. The Baltimore duo has enjoyed a mon- never wanted to force our music on any- ster year already, though, after releasing their one, and hope that even if it’s doing fourth album “Bloom” in May to commercial better than our last album – or whatev- and critical success. Rolling Stone caught up er the industry words are – it’s still based with Legrand on a break on people liking the music. We’ve made choices in our past to avoid those types of situations where we would be market- ed as being in someone’s face. You do have to say no a lot. We’re just trying to maintain that word-of-mouth, organic feeling. 4 www.thecrowd.com The Crowd, May 2013 It’s been eight years, and it’s nice to see the What point would you growth still happening, accumulating steadily have to get to, pop- over time. It’s very natural. What I think is un- ularity-wise, to be natural – and we’re lucky because this didn’t uncomfortable? happen to us – is when you have one album I think that what and it blows up and you have to figure out has made us how to do the second one. uncomfortable, we’ve already So you’re already thinking about the next passed on. I album? can’t say exact- Kind of. I’m not thinking about our next re- ly what that point cord, specifically. I’m thinking about creating is, but I’d hope we’ll – “Oh, I want to make this, I want to make keep using the same this, I want to make this.” It’s not limited to intuitions that we’ve had, but with an open music, either. mind. If, for example, a “In our music, commercial does want In a recent interview, Alex said that he feels there’s a lot of to use our song and we like people tend to hear tones instead of stuff going on, support the company, fully-formed songs when they listen to Beach but the most yeah, they can use our House. Why do you think that is? important thing song, and everything Sometimes people talk about music, whether for us is that will be fine because we blogs or magazines, in a strange way where we hope it won’t feel artistically it doesn’t seem like they’re actually listening resonates with compromised and the to it. They’re just like, ‘Oh, it sounds like the people.” commercial will have second album.’ It’s not the best way to lis- what it wants. We’re ten to music. You can’t definitely not opposed to those types of things. direct people, but you can just go, “Hey, We’d probably never be happy playing an I don’t quite know arena, but that’s not even going to be a pos- what that means.” sibility unless we open for a band we love. As In our music, there’s long as we can keep doing what we’re do- a lot of stuff going ing, I’m not concerned about getting to a on, but the most point where I think to myself, “What the hell important thing happened?” I’m not going to have a Russell for us is that we Brand moment – where he just wakes up in a hope it resonates bed wearing gold chains and smoking a with people. If someone cigarette, like, “What happened?” talks about that, we’re going to understand. Whereas if they say, “It really sounds like this,” we’re gonna say, “Uh huh, ok.” You can make a reference to Cocteau Twins, you can Keep up on the latest Beach House news make as many references as you want, but I by following them on Twitter do think the most meaningful thing about our (@BeaccchHoussse) music is the feeling. www.thecrowd.com 5.