Beach House has had a better year than most.  The past twelve months have seen the band tour the country with Grizzly Bear, sign to the venerable Sub Pop, and release the superb Teen Dream to near universal acclaim. It came as no surprise, then, when the group sold out New York’s Webster Hall well in advance of touring to support its fantastic third record. And judging from the reception inside the venue Thursday night, Beach House’s growing base of rapturous listeners had waited a while for this one.

Following an upbeat set from up-and-coming chillwaver Washed Out and backing band Small Black, Beach House made their way to the stage amid a backdrop of chrome-fringed, hanging pyramids. Lead vocalist/organist Victoria Legrand, invoking a young Stevie Nicks jamming with Spiritualized, drew the attention of eye and ear with an immensely magnetic stage presence. Draped in a white blazer front and center, she played to the crowd’s affections- compellingly demure one moment and fervent the next. Lead guitarist Alex Scally, on the other hand, kept a lower profile and chose instead to support Scally’s lead with his sparkling and often subtle melodies.

Having already forged a reputation with its occasionally delicate brand of dream-pop, Beach House has taken its craft to a new level with the release of the aptly named Teen Dream. There is an urgency of emotion in the band’s new material, a feeling of breathless sentiment that was missing from sophomore album Devotion or the their self-titled debut. At times, hazy melodies give way to a swelling intensity that surges just below the surface of the song. Rising to the top of the mix, Legrand’s voice is starkly authentic in its flawed beauty, soulful one moment and straining in the next. Indeed, these songs are shaped by a true gravity not found on the band’s first two records, as mesmerizing as they may have been. In the live setting, Beach House conveys this emotional pull with magnificent sincerity.

Thursday night’s set did not stray far from the tracklist of the brilliant Teen Dream. Beach House worked through the majority of the record in the space of an hour on stage, interspersing previous singles like “Gila” throughout the evening.  The group peaked toward the end of its set, building a magnificent climax on Teen Dream’s standout opener “Zebra”. Called back for their encore, Beach House closed with the driving “10 Mile Stereo” and, despite a minor fall during one of Ms. Legrand’s more manic moments on stage, surged past its previous pinnacle.

Indeed, Legrand and Scally have shrugged off the mournful veneer imprinted on some of their earlier work and embraced a warm vibrancy that adds much to the band’s appeal. This sonic shift has, at once, increased Beach House’s accessibility while simultaneously confirming that which drew fervent praise from early adopters- namely, that Legrand and Scally hit their stride while spanning the highs and lows of human emotion.