Tracklisting:

Restorations – Nonbeliever
Goshen Electric Co. – The Grey Tower
Horse Culture – Follow
Yowler – Where Is My Light?
Desert Liminal – Gauze Cave
Anamon – In 3
Adeline Hotel – Lightning
Lea Thomas – Upstream
Scott Orr – No Phone
Advance Base – Christmas in Nightmare City
Blue Wilson – Golden Eyes
The Sofas – Nothing Major
Lazy Legs – Nosebleed
All Boy/All Girl – Bomb
Strange Ranger – New Hair
Elly Swope – Idea
Dweller – Running
Will Henriksen – Halo
Knuckle Pups – Bottom Baby
Ian Wayne – Guessing
Massage – Crying Out Loud
Recluse Raccoon – Mother America
Interbellum – Ink
Marc Ferrino – Like a Spark
Katie Kuffel – As the Crow Flies
Emily Brown – Sometimes
KASHKA – Holding Steady
Philippe Bronchtein – Me and the Moon
Spencer Segelov – Sacred Songs
Annie Dressner – Fades Away
Belaver – Grave Robber
Of The Valley – Ride Alone
Hour – Give thanks in a special way

The post October 2018 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The album opens with ‘That’s Not Me’, all wavering strings and trickling piano and a bright and positive atmosphere, somewhere at the crossroads between Illinois Era Sufjan and Regina Spektor. Although initial impressions can be deceiving, and the lyrics hint at the kind of honest sentiment that’s abound on Bee Eater. It finds the narrator warning a loved one, a reminder of a mercurial restlessness and personal freedom that isn’t content to be locked into any one place or situation for too long.

The sentiment could be said to define Bee Eater, right down the the avian artwork, a kind of coiled energy within, always looking to soar free. ‘Sometimes’ feel dark and rich, electric guitar rolling across the background like rumbles of distant thunder, the whole thing whipping up into a little whirlwind of energy, Brown’s voice carried along in wordless yelps. The lyrics this time deal with a difficult relationship, of distances both real and psychological, and the difficulties of communication that sometimes arise even between loved ones.

Every answer’s clothed in layers of disguise
Oh it scares me that I cannot see your eyes
I am living in a house with all the blinds raised
Watching you look through the windows from outside

The intimate and emotionally intense writing doesn’t stop there, and neither do the aspirations of freedom. ‘Giving Up’ is a break-up song that cuts to the bone, the narrator leaving their partner to follow their own path. “I don’t mean to say that the whole time I’ve been lying,” Brown sings, “I’m only implying I wish I was free.” The vulnerable piano ballad ‘Beautiful Baby’ utilises another facet of the bird imagery, speaking of the vulnerability felt in the aftermath of a relationship.

In comparison, ‘Unseen Girl’ sounds positively upbeat, despite its subject matter of a loved one pining for someone else. It’s a richly imagined folk rock song, intricately crafted and infectious, not unlike Haley Henderickx’s great album from earlier this year. ‘Take Me Up Slowly’ strips things right back, soft guitar and slowly pounded drums supporting Emily Brown’s expressive vocals, before the 60s folk pop of ‘Who Can Say’, with an earnest delivery and steady rise of which Petula Clark and Mama Cass Elliot would be proud.

All that’s left then is the aching ballad of ‘Stay Lovin’, a track which serves as a setting straight of all that came before, all previous hurt and pain faded into a wistful warmth. The idea is pertinent for Bee Eater and Emily Brown’s style more generally—finding fondness within even the most fractured of situations, and beauty within the natural processes of change.

Bee Eater is out now on a variety of formats including CD and vinyl and you can buy it from the Emily Brown Bandcamp page.

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