Beach House * DEVOTION - New CD

Personnel: Victoria Legrand (vocals, organ, keyboards); Alex Scally (guitar, organ, drums). Audio Mixer: Adam Cook. Recording information: Lord Baltimore Recording (08/2007-09/2007). Photographer: Natasha Tyler. Beach House is the musical duo of instrumentalist Alex Scally and vocalist/keyboardist Victoria Legrand. And as their namesake suggests, their music resonates with the kind of languid radiance of a spiritual retreat from the modern world. Building their signature sound from a few spare elements, lo-fi organs, harpsichords, and vintage drum machines, the pair crafts an exquisitely detailed atmosphere from minimal instrumentation. Legrand's hypnotic croon sits pleasingly against Scally's twanging pedal steel lines, suggesting a country-tinged Nico. On "Turtle Island," the dirge-like drone of a harmonium offers a hauntingly baroque accompaniment to Legrand's tale of heartbreak. But somber and downcast is not the only mood on offer: "Some Things Last (A Long Time)" is their version