I’m not a diehard Beach House fan, but I’ll always have a soft spot for what I feel like is one of the top albums of the decade – Bloom – and the gorgeous penultimate track that seems to have followed me throughout the key moments of my life. It played in the car when I realized I loved the girl who is now my wife. We slow danced to this song in a vacant parking lot under the stars on our first date. Hell, it played at our wedding. If there was going to be a Beach House song on this list, it was always going to be this.
Of course “On The Sea” is objectively one of the band’s greatest achievements anyway, so I don’t feel like a whole lot of detailed persuasion is even needed here. But the way it bounces in on those rhythmically uplifting pianos and ever-so-gradually builds to a vocal crescendo is nothing short of breathtaking. Lyrically, the sea is a metaphor for the afterlife – and the singer grapples with an appreciation for all that life offers, as well as the consequences of death. The song wanes just as elegantly as it enters, fading into white noise like a ship disappearing into the night.
Listen to this song on a clear night, alone. It’ll be one of your songs of the decade too.
