Beach House’s latest album ‘Teen Dream’ is one of the best of 2010 so far. The duo’s dreamscape surroundings have been taken onboard by producer Chris Cody (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio) and the pair have come up with a set of hazy pop songs that will take some beating this year . Bowlegs caught up with the twosome before their support slot with Grizzly Bear during their UK tour.

Bowlegs: So how’s the tour going?

Victoria: Going well, this is our fifth week

Bowlegs: Tired?

Victoria: It’s like up and down, you get tired then you get inspired.

Alex: You take a shower and get all excited and get trashed for a few nights then it’s like, ‘fuck I’m tired again!’

Bowlegs: What have you been doing today, before the gig?

Alex: We got that second hand keyboard (Alex points to a retro keyboard leaning against the dressing room wall) from a bric-a-brac shop down the road.

Bowlegs: Are you going to use it tonight?

Alex: No, but it is the sort of keyboard we’re always using, and you rarely come by stuff like that.

Bowlegs: So we guess you’re pretty passionate about seeking out these old instruments for the band?

Alex: We’re both really obsessed with thrift shopping. People put so little value on things now. We’re always on the lookout.

Victoria: One of the keyboards used on all our records I got in a thrift shop about six years ago for fifty dollars. Finding something like that makes your day!

Bowlegs: And makes your sound too?

Alex: For sure. When we found this keyboard today we were freaking out because some of the sounds were just what we wanted for the new songs we’ve been writing.

Victoria: Sounds that other keyboards just don’t have.

Bowlegs: Teen Dream has had great reviews. Has it opened new doors?

Victoria: We’re kind of inside of it, the recording then the tour…

Alex: I suppose there is an increase in pressure. People like the record so they’re coming to the shows now. The pressure is we want the shows to be cool. We have to live up to the music.

Bowlegs: Do you reflect on all this mayhem and think, wow, this is all going really well.

Victoria: Oh yes, we are so grateful, things are going so great.

Bowlegs: Is the live sound the same as, say, two years back, or has it grown like the sound on the albums has?

Alex: It’s greatly evolved. The last record was a lot more like a bedroom type two dimensional sound, but with the new record and supporting such great bands like the Fleet Foxes, we’ve managed to extrovert it…or something like that!

Bowlegs: How did you do it?

Victoria: I guess the renewed energy, and playing live and touring, it makes you different.

Bowlegs: And in turn will affect the next record?

Victoria: Every day affects the next record.

Alex: That’s the main reason we love touring. By the end of it you will without a doubt feel in some way different from how you felt before the tour. It’s like seasons. The recording season, the press season and then the touring season and back again.

Victoria: Sometimes I can’t even remember how I felt before a tour.

Alex: The creativity season is a great season, but once it’s over you’re ready to move on to the tour.

Bowlegs: So how did bringing Chris Cody (the producer) on board come about?

Victoria: Chris had approached us after the first record and expressed interest in working with us one day, and we were looking for a collaborator rather than an all out producer. He’s really talented and we felt really comfortable with him.

Alex: We were like ‘this guy is as weird as we are’ and it felt right. He’s the kind of guy who’s always ready to go in some new direction.

Bowlegs: Do you think he’s maintained the Beach House sound?

Victoria: The word producer has a certain connotation, but we wanted someone who wasn’t going to take total control, because we know what we want. Chris was perfect in that respect.

Bowlegs: When did you guys start working together and how did that happen?

Victoria: I met Alex through a friend, he then joined our band as a bass player.

Bowlegs: Any other projects going on?

Alex: No time. It’s all Beach House!

Bowlegs: So no other jobs any more.

Alex: No, but we’re completely broke though!

Bowlegs: When the tour is over do you need a break from each other?

Alex: No, we have a special relationship. There’s no need to even speak when we’re with each other. It’s complicated!

Bowlegs: What’s on your iPod?

Alex: Cocteau Twins, Fever Ray, Joe Meek – he’s amazing. Shuggie Otis, OMD…

Victoria: Funkedelic.

Alex: The Vaselines.

Bowlegs: Do you have similar tastes do you think?

Alex: Most of our party have pretty good taste!

Victoria: No Alt-Country!

Bowlegs: You’re good friends with Grizzly Bear are you not?

Alex: Absolutely. It makes the tour more fun, they’re so great.

Bowlegs: Good luck in your show with them tonight.

Victoria: Thanks.