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Silver Soul (song)

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"Silver Soul"
Song by Beach House
from the album Teen Dream
ReleasedJanuary 26, 2010 (2010-01-26)
RecordedJuly 2009
Studio
GenreDream pop
Length4:58
LabelSub Pop
Songwriter(s)Victoria Legrand
Producer(s)
Music video
"Silver Soul" on YouTube

"Silver Soul" is a song by American dream pop duo Beach House. It was released on January 26, 2010, through Sub Pop, as the second track off their third studio album Teen Dream (2010). In the years following its release, the song had received positive commentary from music critics, with a few of them considering it one of the duo's best songs, and was sampled on songs by rappers Kendrick Lamar and Lil Peep. In 2025, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting a total of 500,000 units sold in the United States.

Background and writing

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In 2009, Beach House began working on their third studio album Teen Dream after extensive touring for their second album, Devotion (2008).[1] Eventually signing a label contract with Sub Pop that same year,[2] the entire album was leaked on the internet.[3] It was later released officially on January 26, 2010, along with "Silver Soul", appearing as its second track.[4] According to guitarist Alex Scally, one of the lyrics from "Silver Soul" was inspired by a scene in "Episode 14" of the television series Twin Peaks, where The Giant warns Dale Cooper, "it is happening again", which lead vocalist Victoria Legrand had remembered while writing the song.[5]

Release and reception

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On December 1, 2009, "Silver Soul" was unofficially released on the internet and was taken down shortly per request of Sub Pop.[6] It was later officially released on January 26, 2010, as the second track from the duo's third studio album Teen Dream.[4] In 2013, "Silver Soul" was listed as Beach House's best song by John Everhart of Stereogum,[7] while Max Savage Levenson from Paste named it their second-best song in 2015.[8] The song was also sampled on rapper Kendrick Lamar's 2012 song "Money Trees",[9] later being sampled on rapper Lil Peep's 2017 track "Downtown".[10] On June 10, 2025, "Silver Soul" received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting a total of 500,000 units sold in the United States.[11]

Music video

[edit]

The song's accompanying music video was directed solely by Legrand, and was also included on the DVD version of the album.[4] The video consists of silver-painted women hula-hooping, who are the only ones seen throughout the entire video.[4] According to Legrand, the video's idea originated to a narrative she had imagined in her head while writing the song, subsequently explaining her visions:

I saw this girl, I saw the hula hoops, I saw the silver, I saw the shower and the leg; it was one after another and I was just like, "What am I going to do? I have all these things in my brain?"[12]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Teen Dream.[13]

Beach House

Additional musicians

  • Daniel Franz – drums; percussion

Production

  • Chris Coady – production, engineering, mixing
  • Beach House – production; arrangement
  • Nilesh Patel – mastering

Certifications

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Certifications for "Silver Soul"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Rettig, James (January 24, 2020). "Beach House's Teen Dream Turns 10". Stereogum. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  2. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (April 20, 2012). "Beach House: The Story Behind 'Bloom' and Indie's Most Reliable Duo". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  3. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (November 20, 2009). "Premature Evaluation: Beach House – Teen Dream". Stereogum. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Breihan, Tom (January 22, 2010). "Video: Beach House: 'Silver Soul'". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  5. ^ Hall, Andrew (March 4, 2010). "Beach House | Features". Cokemachineglow. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 1, 2009). "New Beach House: 'Silver Soul'". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Everhart, John (July 10, 2013). "The 10 Best Beach House Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Savage Levenson, Max (November 20, 2015). "The 10 Best Beach House Songs". Paste. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  9. ^ Weiss, Jeff (April 18, 2020). "Kendrick Lamar's Money Trees Is A Time Machine". NPR. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Moore, Sam (November 22, 2017). "Watch Lil Peep's videographer's touching tribute video to late rapper". NME. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "American single certifications – Beach House – Silver Soul". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  12. ^ Nasser, Raquel (April 16, 2010). "Beach House : The AD Interview". Aquarium Drunkard. Archived from the original on April 19, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  13. ^ Teen Dream liner notes. Sub Pop. 2010.
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