The Baltimore duo Beach House’s first two albums were fairly popular on an indie level, and made a good number of year-end lists. But that all seems like a prelude now to the massive reception that the band’s Sub Pop debut, Teen Dream, has enjoyed since its release in January, as one of the most universally acclaimed albums of 2010 so far.

To be sure, Teen Dream is a marked step forward in quality from 2008’s Devotion, but the aesthetic differences are subtle. New producer Chris Coady removes some of the hazy gauze of reverb from their earlier work, and it sounds like he’s moved the musicians closer to the microphones and captured more precise performances. But there’s still a thousand yard stare quality to Beach House’s songs that makes them more enjoyable as background music than active listening. It’s slow, pretty music, but it never hits you upside the head with striking beauty or haunting emotion. Victoria Legrand’s throaty, almost androgynous voice is still one of the band’s most distinctive traits, but aside from her impassioned performance on “Real Love,” she rarely projects a strong persona or emotional state.

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Still, Teen Dream is not without its charms or surprises. “Used To Be,” with its jaunty, lively piano melody, or the pounding climax of “10 Mile Stereo” are things I never would’ve expected to hear on a previous Beach House album. And “Lover of Mine,” with its strong backbeat and shimmering keyboards, is almost the band’s lackadaisical take on synth pop. More often than not, however, touches like the dragging, almost drunken-sounding slide guitar on “Norway” underline how Beach House can find ways to be creative and unique while remaining largely in their comfort zone of pretty background music.