Beach House - Once Twice Melody (2LP) - Gold/Clear Vinyl

Beach House’s eighth studio album, Once Twice Melody, arrives like a constellation, a patient sprawl of songs that reveal themselves with time and good speakers. Released 18 February 2022 on Sub Pop and Bella Union after a staggered, four‑chapter rollout from late 2021, it is an 18‑track double set that leans into grandeur without losing the intimate glow that has always defined the Baltimore duo. Victoria Legrand’s dusky voice threads through Alex Scally’s chiming guitars and analogue synths, while drum machines and the steady pulse of James Barone’s live kit keep the whole thing moving in slow focus.

The title track sets the tone, a lull of 12‑string shimmer and gentle propulsion that makes the room feel bigger. “Superstar” lifts the curtain on the album’s widescreen heart, all luminous synth pads and aching melody. “Pink Funeral” is the point where the cinematic ambition becomes undeniable, its orchestration swelling and receding like a tide. Those strings are not just a plug‑in either, they are real players, with arrangements by the veteran David Campbell, and they give the record a tactile, old‑movie texture that suits Beach House’s sense of romance.

Once Twice Melody works as a whole, but its chaptered release makes a kind of sense even now. You can hear each group of songs find a slightly different temperature. The early tracks are airy and silver, the middle run grows bolder and more rhythmic, the final stretch leans into hush and afterglow. “New Romance” is a clear standout, a swift rush that still feels poised, while “Over and Over” unspools in waves, its refrain circling until it lands like sea foam. “Masquerade” brings a darker undercurrent, the synths throbbing like neon at closing time, and “Only You Know” sneaks in with a bittersweet hook that lingers longer than you expect.

Beach House produced the album themselves, and you can feel that control in the patient pacing and layered detailing. Nothing is hurried. The drum programming sits next to live cymbals with an easy truce, guitar lines sparkle rather than shred, and Legrand’s harmonies bloom like reflections in water. The band have always prized atmosphere, but the scale here is new. It is also the longest record they have made, yet it never tips into bloat. The sequencing is careful, so when the late highlights arrive, they land. “The Bells” is a quiet marvel, a nocturne built on soft chimes and hushed voice. “Hurts to Love” finds a simple phrase and turns it into a balm. The closer, “Modern Love Stories,” dissolves into vapour, a curtain call rather than a bow.

Critical response matched the ambition, with glowing notices across the board and plenty of year‑end list mentions. That tracks, because this is a band at ease with its powers. You can step into Once Twice Melody at several points and find something to hold. Maybe it is the gauzy waltz of “Through Me,” with its fluttering synth arpeggios, or the late afternoon hue of “Sunset.” Even the deep cuts have a lived‑in feel, the sense that these songs were carefully tended rather than polished into anonymity.

It is also a record that really earns a turntable spin. The chapter structure maps neatly to sides, so the Once Twice Melody vinyl experience feels like opening four little rooms and sitting with each mood. Pressings from Sub Pop and Bella Union have been well regarded, and Beach House vinyl has a way of making a lounge feel like a small cinema. If you are trawling a Melbourne record store on a Saturday or scanning vinyl records Australia late at night, keep an eye out. People hunt for Beach House albums on vinyl because the format flatters that soft halo around the instruments and Legrand’s voice. If you prefer to buy Beach House records online, this is an easy add to cart, the rare double album that rewards every side.

Across its length, the duo never abandon the core of what makes their music resonate, tenderness, melody, and a mood you can almost touch. They just amplify it, with strings, with patience, with a confidence that lets a song build for five minutes because the fifth minute matters. Once Twice Melody is a big record, but it is big in the way a clear sky is big. Stand under it for a while and you start to notice more and more.