On today's mix...
Beach House - Devotion (2008)

Beach House's music exists as in a dream state, one perpetually threatening to fall into nightmare. Devotion, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut, is a spare, relaxing, unhurried, and uneasy album, a good album for a nighttime drive. Highlights like "Wedding Bell" and "D.A.R.L.I.N.G." provide lovely melodies offset by backing music that never leads you quite where you expect. The many instruments throughout the album--guitar, organ, and tambourine, most dominantly--sound as though they're being played underwater (possibly at the beach?), but the sound is never muddled or overly busy. Beach House impress by delivering a distinct, hypnotic soundscape in Devotion without getting monotonous or sacrificing songcraft.

8/10