Killer Bee – When the Soul Lies Down in That Grass

Hailing from New York and now based in Southern California, Killer Bee is a folk project in the traditional sense. Homespun porch music, thoughts mused and confessions made to whatever chords are at hand. Formed in the aftermath of a difficult period, the songs represent both a new start and a continuation of something older and truer. A reconnection with an former self, a continuation of what has always been present, no matter how difficult the road has been.

The debut Killer Bee album, When the Soul Lies Down in That Grass, is therefore understandably candid. Being released in parts, the first three songs are available now, with opener ‘Bluebird’ introducing the classic wistful charm and unguarded emotion that makes up the Killer Bee aesthetic. “Bluebird, take me home / Neversink river, I’m never alone,” goes the opening lines, the American landscape encoding memories, times more innocent and fond. But if the song holds a message, it is that memories are more than snapshots. That people change, but they also stay the same. That family perseveres on through, and you can be that person once more.

I can tell by your voice you’ve been singing all day
Singing for me to come home and this time to stay
The rasp in your voice, it creaks when you pine
For me to understand the weight of time

The other two tracks are equally heartfelt, be it the nostalgic melancholy of ‘Time Machine’ with it’s piano-led reserve, or the earthy finger-picked sincerity of ‘King of Hearts’. “Well, I know it’s been hard to be my friend / Surely hard to be my lover,” opens the latter. “Trust me, I’ve tried to bring forth the end / But, I think of my mama and think of my brother.” Again this thread returns. The sense that, when descending toward rock bottom, there is a chance that the fall be broken, and you find yourself suspended in the love of others. The songs are “part of a letter to anyone who has ever loved me,” the artist explains. “Part of a letter saying anything good I’ve ever done has been because of them and for them.”

When the Soul Lies Down in That Grass is being release in parts, and you can hear the first on the Killer Bee Spotify page.