$13.98 (list price), Delicate Pop, Carpark

Basic Story: At the height of what seems to be an ever-growing cult following, Baltimore's Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally return with their sophomore album.

Sample: "Sure, you've got a handle on the past/ it's why you keep your little lovers in your lap/ give a little more than you like/ pick apart the past, you're not going back."

Verdict: Beach House has a format and they like to stick to it. Victoria Legrand plays a sleepy organ and sings haunting harmonies while Alex Scally plays a hypnotizing slide guitar, all done over the pulse of a drum machine. But having heard their first record does not mean you've heard Devotion. The duo has expanded not so much their sound, but rather their ability to perfect it. The end result is the equivalent of falling endlessly into a big pile of leaves in the fall. It's a classic in its own right and the first great record of '08.