New Albums: Beach House; Destroyer; Lindi Ortega

Beach House

Depression Cherry

(SubPop ***1/2)

nolead ends Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally of Beach House are not prolific, and the Baltimore dream-pop duo don't bother reinventing themselves. Going back to their self-titled 2006 debut, each Beach House album sounds sort of the same, with stately melodies, unhurried rhythms, programmed drums, Scally's haunting organ lines, and Legrand's cool, androgynous vocals, which here often recall those of Green Gartside of the brainy 1980s British dance-pop band Scritti Politti. Following up 2012's Bloom - with a break in between to lead a tribute tour to former Byrd Gene Clark's 1974 album No Other - Depression Cherry tweaks that sonic strategy ever so slightly on songs such as the briefly noisy "Sparks." But mainly it elegantly explores longing, loss, and languor with understated, shimmering elegance and infinite patience. It's a lushly melancholic record that's comforting in the beauty of its sadness, all the more so if you brush up against its LP or CD sleeves, which are made of red velvet.

- Dan DeLuca

nolead begins Destroyer
nolead ends nolead begins Poison Season
nolead ends nolead begins (Merge ***1/2)

nolead ends Although Vancouver's Dan Bejar, as Destroyer, has made a two-decade career of releasing stylistically diverse albums, 2011's Kaputt was still a shock.

Bejar, who is also one of the songwriters in the New Pornographers, set aside the extroverted and verbose styles he explored on such albums as 2000's glam-rocking Streethawk: A Seduction and 2004's synth-based Yer Blues in favor of the smooth adult contemporary tones of Roxy Music's Avalon or Van Morrison's Avalon Sunset. The suave trappings suited Bejar's enigmatic songs well.

Like Kaputt, Poison Season is also restrained - in part. It swings, sometimes abruptly, between conspiratorial ballads built on complex string and horn arrangements ("Hell," "Girl in a Sling") and bright, soul rock tunes whose sax solos recall David Bowie's Young Americans era ("Dream Lover," "Times Square"). Somehow, it all hangs together, and Poison Season is yet another fascinating, impressive Destroyer album.

- Steve Klinge

nolead begins Lindi Ortega
nolead ends nolead begins Faded Gloryville
nolead ends nolead begins (Last Gang ***)

nolead ends The "Faded Gloryville" concept gives Lindi Ortega an evocative theme for her new album, but it's pretty clear the Canadian expatriate in Nashville is not dwelling in such a place right now, at least when it comes to her work. Instead, she again shows herself to be a vibrant Americana singer and songwriter whose artistry continues to broaden and deepen.

Ortega works here with three producers, but Faded Gloryville maintains a cohesive feel. She remains adept at material ranging from somber balladry (the title track) to twang-fueled fiestiness ("Run Amuck"). But she also expands her palette with "the Muscle Shoals sessions," in which she collaborates with the Civil Wars' John Paul White and the Alabama Shakes' Ben Tanner. The results find Ortega delving into country-soul with moving numbers that include the yearning "Someday Soon" and, in the only non-original, a superb, down-home take on the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody."

- Nick Cristiano

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The Libertines, Anthems for Doomed Youth; Travi$ Scott, Rodeo; Iron Maiden, The Book of Souls; Ane Brun, When I'm FreeEndText