The first time Beach House played Whelan’s, it was as second fiddle to their touring mates. Fleet Foxes were teetering on critical adoration, while Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally’s brilliant second album Devotion was generally overlooked. Tonight, though, the Baltimore duo arrive in Dublin as heroes thanks to their excellent third effort Teen Dream, and this sold-out gig has been the hottest ticket in town for weeks.
It’s a relief that the show hasn’t been upgraded to a bigger venue: Whelan’s is the perfect setting to hear the live version of an album that evokes warmth and intimacy, and even Legrand seems to agree when she tells the throng that she, Scally and their live drummer are glad to be back in “their favourite place”.
It’s the night before Valentine’s Day and love is distinctly in the air, whether it’s a drunken patron urging the beautiful Legrand to ‘carry his babies’, the woozy pitch of slinky tunes like ‘Lover Of Mine’ and ‘Silver Soul’, or even the sheer adulation being directed at the stage. But it’s Legrand’s sensual, androgynous vocals that have everyone talking when the house lights have gone up. Her deep, pitch-perfect thrum adds an extra facet to these songs, not least an astonishingly good telling of Teen Dream opener ‘Zebra’ and Devotion’s ‘Gila’. Buy the records, wear the t-shirts, and for God’s sake, make sure you see Beach House the next time they play near you.