Beekeeper
Ostrich
[Southern]
Rating: 8.4
Beekeeper got together for three days last April in Brooklyn, New York to
record their second record, Ostrich, which has just appeared on
Chicago's uber-indie label Southern Records. There. Now you know what
I know about the band. Let's talk about the music.
Beekeeper mix slow-core and math-rock with pop sensibility and come out
with undiluted, beautiful melodies and near- perfect pop music-- it's not
sugary- sweet, and it's not death metal. Instead, it's what you might get
if you tossed Low's I Could Live In Hope, Yo La Tengo's I Can Hear
The Heart Beating As One and Shipping News' Save Everything into
a blender.
Kicking off with the quiet and complex "Wait Til Then," Ostrich spins
through some seriously cool territory: "Dead and Drugged" would be a classic
college radio smash with its unforgettable melody and disco- rock tempo;
"Watching You Die" captures the sterility of a hospital bedroom and the
helplessness that finally forces you to give up hope; "Men" is head- bobbing
rock reminiscent of the better stuff on Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville.
If you're losing hope for indie rock as we know it-- and I know I am-- Beekeeper's
Ostrich just might be the album to restore your faith. If you're still
deeply in love with the stuff, it make your Top 10 list this year. Regardless,
it'd be a damn shame for anyone to miss out on a record this great.
-Ryan Schreiber