You probably guessed it, more indie emo-rock. You can tell by the band names and their album titles. All sort of weirdy and stuff. Beezewax are Norwegian (assuming from the inlay), but they wish they were American. And as they rather cunningly take influence from all thats good from over the pond by combining bits of the Promise Ring, and a whole host of other bands I’ve probably yet to hear, I guess I’ll have to forgive ’em.
This is a strange album. Because if you asked me to tell you how any of the songs on it went, I would have a job separating one from the other. BUT. Its still a really great listen. 12 tracks of utterly nice and wondrous, rocking indie, with an emo edge to it. It is extremely relaxing and enjoyable to listen to the lazy sunny day vibes that Beezewax create, yet they are hardly a slow band. Tracks like “On The Floor” with its ragged production and slicing guitars really pick up the tempo. Beezewax seem to have eschewed the perfect production that you would assume would be the norm on this sort of music, choosing at times to sneak the vocals behind the guitars. Maybe that should be a bad thing, but it works perfectly here.
Top track for me has to be the supreme “Favourite Me” with lyrics that really get ya, plus an ace tune too. And an ice-cream van by the sounds of…what? Oh, sorry, thats ‘real life’ intruding on me there. Then “Miracle Mile” introduces a glockenspiel or some other old middle school music lesson instrument to vary the sound on perhaps the best slower effort present, and “Tear Stained Teen” has a bit of a Glitterbox feel to it.
This is music to lose yourself in – gaze out the window and wander miles away. But please don’t play it in your car, or you’ll end up driving in a straight line to infinity. “A Dozen Summits” is going to back up the Promise Ring on my personal stereo the next time I have to escape the small town drudgery and get intentionally lost in the surprisingly peaceful Essex countryside. Just gotta hope this sudden burst of summer makes it to the weekend.