Album: Beach House, Bloom (Bella Union)

Baltimore “dream-pop” duo Beach House's fourth album proceeds in exactly the same manner as its 2010 predecessor, Teen Dream, which is to say: tediously.

Openers “Myth” and “Wild” set the template for every track that follows, with effects-drenched synth and guitar arpeggios harnessed to the kind of groove that never builds momentum. It's painfully methodical stuff, and the plaintive swooning inflection of Victoria Legrand is equally schematic, lacking both emotional involvement and all but the most gossamer-thin charm. Pleasantly undemanding for a few tracks, the album just seems to evaporate away halfway through, as if even its creators couldn't retain interest in it, either.

Download: Myth; Wild