All our yeahs

Beach House returns to Cain’s Ballroom for (another) double encore

Baltimore natives Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand are the masterminds behind Beach House, possibly the best-known dream-pop band on the planet. The group’s meditative, eloquent pop music has entered the hearts and minds of millions.

While Scally and Legrand lead the band, touring members like drummer James Barone have served Beach House’s live performances since 2016. Barone also played on the band’s new album, 7.

After B-Sides and Rarities in 2017, Beach House felt they had cleaned out their “creative closets” and were able to start anew. In a March 7 press release, the band wrote about approaching their latest album from a place of “rebirth and rejuvenation.”

Beach House’s seventh album, aptly named 7, will drop May 11 via Sub Pop Records. It’s their hope that the title’s simplicity will “encourage people to look inside.”

The band is promoting the release of 7 with an extensive tour schedule, beginning in Tennessee on April 30 and ending in Ireland on October 20. Due to such high demand, the massive worldwide trek includes sold-out shows and double-header performances.

Beach House brings their tour to Cain’s Ballroom on Saturday, May 5.

Alex Scally: Hey, Ty. How you doing?

Ty Clark: Hey. Great, thank you! Where are you at the moment?

Scally: Baltimore.

Clark: Cool. Thank you for taking the time. I spoke to some rather fanatical Beach House fans here in Tulsa to see if they had any questions they wanted to ask.

Scally: [laughs] Sweet!

Clark: Do you have a favorite Beach House record?

Scally: I honestly don’t think favorites come into play with making records. For us they all feel more like time capsules, you know? It’s more like when parents have children. You don’t pick favorites. They all mean different things to you—you don’t go and pick favorites. It’s not a cop-out; it’s honestly the truth.

Clark: You’ve played Tulsa numerous times—

Scally: Yeah, three times.

Clark: At one of those shows, you or Victoria said Tulsa was the first place that gave you a double encore. Is that true?

Scally: Yeah. First and last. [laughs]

Clark: You have some intense fans here.

Scally: It’s crazy. I mean, we love Cain’s Ballroom and the kids there—to some extent it’s really different, but it reminds me of Baltimore. It’s not a big town and people there just like to have fun. I don’t know. It’s just a great vibe. It’s awesome.

Clark: Do you have a set formula when writing now?

Scally: To whatever degree we have a set formula, it’s the formula that our brains are limited to. Like, your brain can only do what your brain can do. But no, each song kind of happens differently. There are certainly some recurring patterns with how things come about. That just must be the inherent patterns and pitfalls/methods our brains create.

Clark: Who produced 7?

Scally: Well, it was co-produced between us—we had a very large hand in it—with Sonic Boom [Peter Kember], a pretty famous cult musician from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Clark: I don’t know much about this story, but were you upset when Wayne Coyne posted a fake “new” Beach House single on his podcast? Was it an issue because of the coverage it got?

Scally: Oh, no, it just was—uh, somebody made an imitation Beach House song and said it was a new single. We were really into it. It was funny. Kind of an interesting, fun, funny song to listen to. I think it was somebody maybe making fun of us, but also they seemed like creative people, and we’re all for that kind of hijinks. We take ourselves seriously but not in that way. I’m not sure why Wayne Coyne put that on his podcast, but we’re big fans of his. We’ve met him. He’s a sweet dude.

Clark: What’s it like being on the legendary Sub Pop label?

Scally: It’s been pretty groovy so far. We don’t really have many record label experiences to compare it to. We keep coming back because it’s a very healthy and positive working relationship there. Honestly, I don’t have anything bad to say. I’m not a liar and would say it if I could. Yeah, it’s a great, great place.

Clark: Is there any place you’re looking forward to visiting or dining while in town?

Scally: There’s a spot right around the corner from Cain’s. There’s this Mexican place we went to last time. It was killer. We always look forward to being in town so much. This time is no different. Usually, the day after the Tulsa show is pretty bad for us. Hopefully we can keep ourselves under control this time.

Beach House with Sound of Ceres
Saturday, May 5, 8 p.m.
Cain’s Ballroom | 423 N. Main St.
$25–$40 | cainsballroom.com