Through an amazing run of albums the Baltimore duo Beach House, formed in 2004, have positioned themselves as one of the most reliable forces in contemporary pop. This reputation is well deserved, and on their most recent record, Depression Cherry, they continue to lead music lovers into meditative, dreamlike states. Beach House have long had an obsession for classic 80s acts, borrowing the decade’s aesthetic by coating their melodic genius under layers of weightless guitars and rhythmic chloroforms… The shadows of the Cocteau Twins (albeit more sparse), My Bloody Valentine (albeit less loud), and Neil Young’s Harvest Moon (albeit less hairy) hang above the band’s universe. There is a sublime love of melancholy that unites both the voice of Victoria Legrand (the niece of Michel) and the lush harmonies sculpted by Alex Scally. This, their fifth album, is once again the perfect soundtrack to a waking dream; lush, romantic, and evanescent, it is musical sleepwalking. One might ask, then, have Beach House achieved anything new? Not exactly: Depression Cherry is more concerned with the band reaching perfection in their style of song-writing. Each of the nine tracks on this dream-pop disc is a marvel of construction. Magical.