There is nothing quite like listening to an album by an artist you’ve just discovered and getting completely consumed by it. Christian List‘s ‘Beach’ is such an album for me.
The emerging singer songwriter is driven by passion and curiosity and writes about all that passes the revue in the day-to-day. Not bound to one style, ‘Beach’ combines elements of indie, pop, and folk, with its opening track being a softly swaying alternative folk release followed by a subtle indie anthem named ‘Some Of Us’. Right from the start, it’s clear that List has widened his sonic palette since his 2023 record ‘Spirit’, which was a melancholic affair tracked almost entirely live with just guitar and voice.
On ‘Beach’, he leans into colour and musical textures. The acoustic intimacy that marked his earlier work is still present, but now it’s wrapped in warm, glowing production. Pedal steel guitars sigh in the background, Hammond organs hum like distant sunlight, and shimmering vintage synths dance around his melodies. His music feels both nostalgic and fresh, it’s like looking at old photographs through rose-tinted glasses while someone quietly opens a window to let the musical breeze in.
‘On The Beach’ captures this blend perfectly; breezy guitar lines and gentle percussion frame a song about fleeting summer moments, and List’s delivery walks the line between wistful and quietly euphoric. Later, ‘Back In The Days’ brings a touch of soul, with hazy keys and a rolling groove underscoring lyrics about memory and the strange way time collapses when you think about the past.
What’s most striking is how cohesive ‘Beach’ feels despite its genre-blending. Each song has its own distinct character, yet they’re tied together by List’s voice; a soft, earnest presence that never pushes too hard, and by the album’s warm, analogue-tinged production. It feels like stepping into a self-contained world; sun-faded but vividly alive. Something that’s clear on ‘Win’, the soulful ‘Only One Thing’, and subtly anthemic ‘Wet’.
‘Beach’ is the sound of an artist opening his windows and letting the air in, expanding his world without losing what made it special to begin with. It’s luminous, inviting, and a collection to inevitably get lost in.
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