Beach House at The Iveagh Gardens

Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand’s trajectory has been slow and steady. Under the Beach House moniker, they’ve gradually built their following from Whelan’s to Vicar St, moving ever onwards and upwards. This is their biggest Irish show yet, in Dublin’s so-called ‘secret’ garden. 
The weather is sensational. The night, however, epitomises the cliché of a gig of two halves. Initially, both the performance and atmosphere are soporific and, to be blunt, dull. Beach House can paint exceedingly pretty pictures in sound. But they don’t always lead anywhere inspiring.
As the sun sets, they perform ‘The Hours’ and proceedings immediately take a turn for the better. Alex and Victoria grasp the moment and treat us to a few fine tunes from their Teen Dream debut. The closing half an hour or so is immense, as a suitably dreamy light show is soundtracked by songs that are generally gorgeous and fragile.
I suspect that Beach House have reached their peak in terms of the kind of venues they can play. This isn’t really music for the great outdoors. Scally and Legrand are probably too static to ever become festival headliners. Perhaps, however, they can prove me wrong.