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8A - Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Basement gets deep
"Lookin good.
A hedbbig 'Dem
Haunting melodies
wash ashore on Beach
House's new album
By JOSHUA BAYER
Daily Arts Writer
It's official: Beach House is here to stay.
When a band flat out nails its aesthetic
only two albums into the game, it's only
natural to worry that all
the band's consecutive
albums will be increas-
ingly lukewarm per- Beach
mutations of the same
sweet formula. With House
2008's Devotion, Beach Teen Dream
House seemed to have Sub Pop
its sound figured out u
to a tee. The Baltimore
duo had struck a spectrally aching bal-
ance among noir-y, reverb-drenched gui-
tars and retro-kitsch organs and drum
machines, all wrapped up in the ominous
blanket of Victoria Legrand's snake-
charming alto. And the end result was an
inimitably haunting mutation of bedroom
pop that seemed almost too perfect to
tamper with.
While Teen Dream largely retains the
tone of syrupy dreaminess that made
Devotion such an emotionally engaging
listen, it proves Beach House is not con-
tent to rest on its laurels. Where Devotion
was brittle and sparse, slinking along
with an icy seductiveness, Teen Dream
is sweeping and warm, with powerhouse
melodies towering like wedding cakes.
From the lushly cherubic vocal layering.
on "Take Care" to the white-noise cli-
max of splashing cymbals, gurgly moans
and quivering synths on the aptly titled
"10 Mile Stereo," Teen Dream's wall-of-
sound grandiosity pulls out the big guns
without compromising the band's hyp-
notic appeal.
A huge component of the album's
larger-than-life feel is its almost alarm-
ing pop sensibility. While Devotion was
anything but short on melody, its thrills
hinged mostly on down-tempo eeriness
rather than bona fide hooks. And though
nothing from Teen Dream will ever make
as much as a peep on FM radio, the
record finds the band stepping out of the
shadows and channeling its introspec-
tive wistfulness into friendlier, heavier-
hitting compositions.
The instant the chorus of opener
"Zebra" starts up, with Legrand's vel-
vety lilt snuggling against a carousel of
lit-up guitar and synthesizer, the album
smothers the listener in its thawing
embrace. "Norway" is especially impres-
sive, taking this newfound pop charisma
and hovering it over a melting wasteland
of heroin-addled guitars and wavery
synths, attesting to the fact that the
band's recent clarity hasn't whitewashed
its aura of mystery.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on Teen
Dream is that you can actually bob your
head along to a couple of the songs. "Sil-
ver Soul," with its fuzzy-monster guitar
throb and crunchy snare-tambourine
hits, sounds like something Zeus would
bop along to in his bathrobe. And "Walk
In The Park" coasts along on an insistent
shaker and pulsating drum machine, illus-
trating how the words "shoegaze" and
"dancy" aren't mutually exclusive.
Still, to say Teen Dream's electrified
vibe is a wholesale improvement on the
"old" Beach House would be stretching
it. While the band has certainly opened
its sound up in terms of warmth, layer-
ing and sheer massiveness, the individ-
ual songs occasionally feel a little bit too
grounded, incessantly building without
ever truly evolving, or overstretching the
same idea without much wiggle-room.
"Zebra" gradually piles on the shakers,
backing vocals and crash cymbals in
traditional slow-burn fashion, but rides
squarely on a verse-chorus-verse-chorus
cycle. And "Walk In The Park" follows
this same rigid structure without much
variation at all, save for its shimmery
outro.
But, ultimately, the album's moderate
lack of movement doesn't really clash
with its chi. Teen Dream's mesmerizing
ocean of noise is meant to be surfed on
dreamily anyway, and the single-mind-
edness of each song almost adds to the
record's overall trance. So snuggle up in
your bed, light some incense and blast
this album at full volume - you won't be
disappointed.
By EMMA JESZKE
Daily Arts Writer
Basement Arts is kicking off its winter
season with a nontraditional style of the-
atrical production. Rather than producing
a single play with one
set of characters and ,Art'and'A
one plot, the first free
student performance to iglt Ade'
grace Studio One thisT
semester consists of two Tonightthrough
separate one-acts, cho- Saturday at 7
sen independently by p.m.,tomorrow
two student directors. at11 p.m.
The evening of one- Walgreen
acts will include "Art" Drama Center
by Yasmina Reza,
directed by School of Music, Theatre &
Dance sophomore Porscha Kazmierc-
zak and "A Slight Ache" by Harold Pinter,
directed by School of MT&D freshman
Doron Bloomfield.
The two shows were lumped together
for purely logistical purposes by the Base-
ment Board. But "Art" and "A Slight Ache"
overcome their drastically different plot-
lines: "Art" tells the story of three feud-
ing middle-aged best friends and "A Slight
Ache" glimpses into a peculiar afternoon
of an elderly couple in a dead marriage.
The two shows have a number of running
parallels thematically and stylistically,
creating a surprisingly cohesive are of the-
atrical experience for their audience.
"Both shows have three people in them,
and both require minimal design elements,"
Bloomfield said. "It seems superficial, but
it's actually not. The idea of three people in
a context of basically an empty space and
seeing how they interact, I think that raises
a lot of questions with the audience."
The connecting thematic elements stem
from the two one-acts' mutual concentra-
tion on human relationships.
A pair of student-
directed plays about
troubled people.
"I think (both plays) speak to people's
inabilities to communicate and connect,"
said Bloomfield. "In 'A Slight Ache' (the
characters) have this match seller that
they are focusing on because they can't
focus on each other, and in 'Art' they are
looking at this painting and are trying
to find meaning in it rather than trying
to find meaning in the relationships they
have."
The characters in each show are at dif-
ferent points in their lives and therefore
demonstrate different takes on human
relationships. "A Slight Ache" has a heavi-
er tone and explores roles in relationships
as they relate to death and dying. "Art," on
the other hand, attacks the idea of rela-
tionships in a more immediate way, con-
fronting what the meaning of friendship
is, what binds people together and why
people hold onto friendships as they dete-
riorate.
Kazmierczak feels that because the two
one-acts explore similar thematic subject
manner in different ways, they will work
well in preparing audiences for the emo-
tional arc of the production.
"Laughter is the best way to open up
people for sadness," Kazmierczak said. "So
I think that it'll be a good experience if my
show ends up going first. If ('Art') appeals
to people's sense of humor, then they will
be ripe and ready to start crying for ('A
Slight Ache')."
"Art" isn't purely comical with its
weighty themes, but the witty dialogue
and eclectic characters arguing with one
another are sure to get audiences laugh-
ing. According to Kazmierczak, one of the
reasons "Art" is funny is that it mirrors our
own experiences with friends.
"The second I read it, I recognized every
tactic that I ever used in an argumentwith
my friend when trying to get what I want,"
Kazmierczak said. "I thought it was really
incredible that someone could capture that
in these characters."
This production will also feature some
fresh names and faces for Basement Arts,
as many students involved with this pro-
duction are newbies.
LSA senior Emily Heider is participating
in her first Basement Arts show as Flora in
"A Slight Ache."
"I definitely think that having both the
leads (in 'A Slight Ache') as (non-perfor-
mance majors) will give a fresh perspec-
tive," Heider said. "Because people who
typicallygo to BasementArts showswould
have never seen me before, maybe it will
give them a different outlook on the char-
acter or even just a different approach to
acting."
Branching out from the nuclear cast and
traditional production style, "Art" and "A
Slight Ache" have much to give to potential
audiences.
"There is never not a reason to see the-
ater," Kazmierczak said. "It's never a waste
of time, it's never harmful, it will always
add something-to your life."
p U
The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan
presents the sixth annual
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
"Budget! Are You Kidding?": How to Pay Your Bills
and Still Like Your Life
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Investing for Young Investors: Putting Your Best Foot Forward
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Networking Knowhow
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
"Your Fork is Not a Shovel": Business Savvy
for the Young Professional
Each session begins at 6 p.m. at the Alumni Center
(200 Fletcher Street). For details and to register,
visit www.umalumni.com/students.
All events are FREE except the February 24 session,
which has a $10 fee.
Visit us online to learn about our other student programs-Welcome Wednesdays,
30 Minute Mentors, Ready to Launch, Michigan Apprentice and more.
ALUMNIASSOCIATION
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
aT UI"A
ANN ARBOR ARTHRITIS WALK
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2010
9:00 AM START TIME
The walk begins and ends at Huron High School. Enjoy a scenic one or
three mile walk through beautiful Gallup Park.
Coffee & Healthy Snacks before the walk
" Music and free massages, face painting, moonwalk, raffle and a
mini health fair after the walk
" Kick-off Event on Saturday, January 30th in Ann Arbor. Contact Laurie
at 800-968-3030 ext. 230 or e-mail: Irupp@arthritis.org for details
Build your team today!
Visit letsmovetogther.org or call 800-968-3030.
ARTHRTIS
SFOUNDATION
take'Control. WeCanHelp
Arthritis Walk National Sponsors
by National Sponsor National Spo nsor N ational5 N MedaSponsor
Ff~1E .3 I.F g.'LE xr Er Athi tlsla