Depression Cherry

Depression Cherry
Studio album by
Beach House
ReleasedAugust 28, 2015 (2015-08-28)
RecordedNovember 2014 – January 2015
StudioStudio in the Country
(Bogalusa, Louisiana)
GenreDream pop
Length44:45
LabelSub Pop
Producer
Beach House chronology
Bloom
(2012) 		Depression Cherry
(2015) 		Thank Your Lucky Stars
(2015)
Singles from Depression Cherry
  1. "Sparks"
    Released: July 1, 2015
  2. "PPP"
    Released: August 6, 2015
  3. "Beyond Love"
    Released: August 6, 2015

Depression Cherry is the fifth studio album by the American dream pop duo Beach House. It was released on August 28, 2015, through Sub Pop in the United States, Bella Union in Europe, Mistletone Records in Australia, Hostess Entertainment in Japan and Arts & Crafts in Mexico. The album was co-produced by the group and Chris Coady, with recording taking place at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana, from November 2014 to January 2015.

Reacting to their dissatisfaction with using live drums on tour to play songs from their previous album, Bloom (2012), the band returned to simpler song arrangements for Depression Cherry, similar to those of its first two studio albums. "Sparks" was released as the album's lead single on July 1, 2015, with "PPP" and "Beyond Love" being released as the second and third singles on August 6, 2015. Upon release, it received mostly positive reviews from critics, while it debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, with 27,000 copies sold. Less than two months after releasing Depression Cherry, Beach House followed it up with their sixth album, Thank Your Lucky Stars.

Background and recording

After Beach House completed touring for their previous record Bloom (2012), the group took a six-month break.[1] Uncertain about their future, singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand said, "I didn't feel creative at all... I just thought well, maybe I'll never have another musical idea."[2] She added, "I just personally felt I needed a couple of months of just not doing anything, I didn't have thoughts."[1] Legrand found herself frustrated and limited creatively by the presence of a live drum set on tour to play Bloom's songs because of "the noise it creates and how much space it fills".[1] Guitarist Alex Scally concurred, saying, "There was a transparent feeling, [the songs] didn't feel as nuanced."[1]

Though some of Depression Cherry's musical ideas originated in 2012, Beach House wrote the majority of the record between the autumn of 2013 and 2014; "10:37" was one of the first songs to be written during this period.[3] The album was recorded at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana over two months,[4][5] from November 2014 to January 2015.[6] It was co-produced by Chris Coady, who worked on the band's previous two records, Teen Dream (2010) and Bloom.[7] Prior to joining the band in the studio, they sent him phone recordings of some of their in-progress songs.[3] For the song "Days of Candy", they hired eight singers from Pearl River Community College to create a 24-part choir.[4] After completing that song and "Levitation", the band knew they had the album's closing and opening tracks, respectively, and considered the record completed.[3] The album was mixed at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, except "Beyond Love", which was mixed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas.[8]

Musical style

According to the band, Depression Cherry is a return to the simpler style of dream pop from their first two albums. In a press release on the Sub Pop website, the group said:

"In general, this record shows a return to simplicity, with songs structured around a melody and a few instruments, with live drums playing a far lesser role. With the growing success of Teen Dream and Bloom, the larger stages and bigger rooms naturally drove us towards a louder, more aggressive place; a place farther from our natural tendencies. Here, we continue to let ourselves evolve while fully ignoring the commercial context in which we exist."[9]

Promotion and release

On May 26, 2015, Beach House announced Depression Cherry along with tour dates supporting the album.[6][10] Vinyl and compact disc copies of the album feature a cover lined with red velvet. A limited edition "Loser Edition" of the album was released on clear vinyl record.[11] On July 1, 2015, Beach House released the album's lead single, "Sparks".[12] On August 6 of the same year, "PPP" and "Beyond Love" were released as the album's second and third singles.[13]

The album's three supporting singles were later published through the band's website and could be accessed through the "Single Finder" feature;[14] the feature allows one to choose three of their favorite songs from the band's past catalog and depending on their choices, it determines which single would likely be their favorite.[15] On August 19, nine days before the release of Depression Cherry, NPR Music made a stream of the album available online.[16] The album debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, with 27,000 copies sold in its first week.[17] On May 23, 2023, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for sales of 500,000 certified units in the United States.[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[19]
Metacritic76/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
The A.V. ClubA−[22]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[23]
The Guardian[24]
The Irish Times[25]
NME5/10[26]
Pitchfork8.4/10[27]
Q[28]
Rolling Stone[29]
Spin8/10[30]

Depression Cherry received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[20] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[19]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Blare Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2015
9
 [31]
Complex 50 Best Albums of 2015
42
 [32]
Crack Best Albums of 2015
31
 [33]
Diffuser.fm The 50 Best Albums of 2015
9
 [34]
Drowned in Sound Favorite Albums of the Year 2015
70
 [35]
Gigwise Albums of the Year 2015
28
 [36]
Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of 2015
38
 [37]
musicOMH Top 50 Albums Of 2015
41
 [38]
No Ripcord Top 50 Albums of 2015
19
 [39]
Paste 50 Best Albums of 2015
19
 [40]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015
28
 [41]
PopMatters 80 Best Albums of 2015
40
 [42]
Pretty Much Amazing The 50 Best Albums of 2015
22
 [43]
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2015
33
 [44]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015
28
 [45]
Spin The 50 Best Albums of 2015
16
 [46]
Sputnikmusic Top 50 Albums of 2015
19
 [47]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015
47
 [48]
The Skinny Top 50 Best Albums of 2015
31
 [49]
The Daily Telegraph The Best Albums of 2015
—
 [50]
The Vinyl Factory The 50 Best LPs of 2015
46
 [51]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2015
8
 [52]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Victoria Legrand; all music composed and arranged by Beach House.

No.TitleLength
1."Levitation"5:54
2."Sparks"5:20
3."Space Song"5:20
4."Beyond Love"4:24
5."10:37"3:48
6."PPP"6:08
7."Wildflower"3:38
8."Bluebird"3:56
9."Days of Candy"6:16
Total length:44:44

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Depression Cherry.[8]

Beach House

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[18] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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