Beach House – “Alien”

Shawn Brackbill

Beach House – “Alien”

Shawn Brackbill

Right now, Baltimore dream-music team Beach House are in a place where they’re really only capable of conjuring extreme, head-spinning beauty. Their recent album 7 is easily one of the best of the year thus far, and even their unused material is enough to knock most bands the fuck out. For proof, just listen to “Alien.”

“Alien,” which magically appeared on YouTube over the weekend, apparently comes from the 7 sessions; the YouTube caption only calls it an “unreleased B-side” from the album. But the song achieves the same sort of liftoff as the single “Dive.” It’s a grand, world-swallowing song, the type of thing that demands to be heard pumping from speakers at Red Rocks or at the Hollywood Bowl, while dry ice fills up the stage and makes the people up there hard to see.

Like “Dive,” “Alien” finds Beach House in their shoegaze zone. More specifically, “Alien” sounds like shoegazey krautrock, but it also sounds like a prom-theme ballad. It’s a hell of a song, and you can hear it below.

UPDATE 10/23: Sub Pop has made “Alien” available officially online as of today.

7 is out now on Sub Pop. The “Lose Your Smile” b/w “Alien 7″ is available for pre-order. Read out Cover Story feature on Beach House here.

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