There hasn’t been an album this year that has made me sit up and take notice – until now.  The dreamy pop of Bloom, the new Beach House album is a delight from start to finish. There a hazy, sun-kissed glow to the ten tracks that leaves me feeling all warm and gooey – mature shoegaze, someone called it, and I’d go along with that.

I love the fact that no one instrument is prominent in the mix – the organ, guitar and drums all merge seamlessly with the floaty vocals drifting within and without – my favourites at the moment  are the two closing tracks On The Sea and Irene which have the effect of making you want to immerse yourself in the whole thing all over again.

This will be the fourth album from the Baltimore boy-girl duo  – Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand – who are going from strength to strength. Alex says of the album: “Bloom is a journey. For me, it is about the irreplaceable power of imagination as it relates to the intense experience of living. A bloom is only temporary… a fleeting vision of life in all its intensity and color, beautiful even if only for a moment.”

I’m listening to it as a leaked copy but you can legally hear the opening track – Myth – on the band’s website.. The official release date on Sub Pop records is May 15th and on this day  I’m thinking I will do that rare thing ago out and pay cash for a hard copy – it’s that good.