IMEEM: http://profile.imeem.com/video/
In anticipation of the release of Devotion, their second full-length for Carpark Records, Baltimore recording artists Beach House (Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally) are proud to unveil their video for “You Came to Me,” directed by Baltimore underground film legend Skizz Cyzyk.
“You Came to Me” picks up where dreamy, atmospheric tracks like “Master of None” on their 2006 debut Beach House left off, and Skizz’s video brings the song to lush visual life — honoring the elegant, exuberant, and mysterious aspects of Beach House’s music while bringing to the forefront in fresh and off-kilter ways the playful visuals suggested by the duo’s sound and stage presence.
Set in the near-empty sanctuary of a sleepy, well-weathered Baltimore church that could double as the backdrop for a David Lynch film, “You Came to Me” as seen by Skizz becomes a shimmering sermon strummed on toy instruments to a temperamental goldfish; a song for which time takes on magical qualities through visual layering, quick pans of stained glass, and soft dissolves — and to which even a man on crutches must shake (or at least gingerly sway) his tail feathers.
BEACH HOUSE are an integral part of the thriving Baltimore music scene, and one of the most acclaimed indie artists to emerge in the last few years. Since forming in 2005 and hooking up with Carpark (home to fellow Baltimoreans DAN DEACON, ECSTATIC SUNSHINE, LEXIE MOUNTAIN BOYS, and WZT HEARTS), the duo quickly garnered national acclaim. Their self-titled 2006 debut record was named one of the Top 20 Albums of 2006 by Pitchfork Media, and that album’s “Apple Orchard” was named one of the site’s Top 10 Tracks of 2006.
Victoria and Alex have both been playing music since their (separate) childhoods in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and France. They cite THE ZOMBIES, BRIAN WILSON, NEIL YOUNG, BIG STAR, and CHRIS BELL as shared favorites, but no one artist or record stands as chief inspiration for their sound. Rather, by not forcing their songs to come to fruition prematurely, an otherworldly space is created: organs, slide guitars, reverb, harmony, accidents, echoes and melodies intermingle into a swirl of sound that conjures dreams of childhood and hot summer nights.
Director SKIZZ CYZYK’s past reads like a timeline of Baltimore’s secret subcultural history of the ’80s, ’90s, and beyond. Since 1983, he has directed over 50 short films, music videos, and features — including Youtube sensation Manager’s Corner and the full-length doc Little Castles, featuring John Waters. He also founded, directed, and programmed one of the world’s premiere underground film festivals, Baltimore’s MicroCineFest.
Skizz was the frontman and chief provocateur of Bmore outsider-music heroes Blister Freak Circus (think THE RESIDENTS, NEGATIVLAND, and THE SHAGGS — and think forthcoming career retrospective on Public Guilt Records), and beat the drums for ’90s indie act Berserk (who released the first full-length on Go-Kart Records). Currently, he is the drummer for psych-warped pop artists The Jennifers (inspired by THE KINKS, THE PRETTY THINGS, and THE FEELIES). Additionally, many of Cyzyk’s photographs of Baltimore and DC’s music scenes in the early 80s appeared in the recent documentary American Hardcore.
“You Came to Me” appears on DEVOTION, Beach House’s second full-length album, which will be released February 26, 2008 on Carpark Records. They embark on a tour of the United States beginning February 28th.
Beach House:
www.beachhousemusic.net
www.myspace.com/beachhousemusic
www.carparkrecords.com
Skizz Cyzyk:
www.skizz.net
www.youtube.com/eskayizezy
www.myspace.com/eskayizezy
BEACH HOUSE SPRING TOUR
02/28 Baltimore, MD Gspot
02/29 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
03/01 Atlanta, GA The Earl
03/02 Birmingham, AL BottleTree Cafe
03/03 Memphis, TN The Hi Tone Cafe
03/05 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
03/06 Houston, TX Walter’s on Washington
03/07 Austin, TX Emo’s
03/08 Denton, TX Hailey’s
03/10 Tucson, AZ Solar Culture
03/11 Phoenix, AZ Modified
03/12 San Diego, CA The Casbah
03/13 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
03/14 San Luis Obispo, CA Steynberg Gallery
03/15 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
03/17 Portland, OR Holocene
03/18 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
03/19 Vancouver, BC Media Club
03/21 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
03/22 Denver, CO Hi-Dive
03/24 Omaha, NE The Slowdown
03/25 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
03/26 Chicago, IL Schubas
03/27 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop
03/28 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
03/29 Montreal, PQ Casa del Popolo
03/30 Winooski, VT The Monkey House
03/31 Cambridge, MA The Middle East
04/02 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
04/03 Philadelphia, PA The Barbery
04/04 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel
Press materials – www.carparkrecords.com/devotionpresspage.html