bees deluxe – Trouble In Paradise
Self Release
10 songs time-31:41
Visions of Judy Jetson dancing “The Solar Swivel” to Jet Screamer belting out “Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah” to the cosmos.
This Boston-based band bills itself as an acid-blues band. English frontman Conrad Warre handles guitar, vocals and songwriting duties. The self-taught Warre plays modified guitars using a hybrid picking technique that enables him to create the clear bell-like tones he prefers. Keyboardist Jon Gamble provides trippy jazz organ and keyboards. The drums of Patrick Sanders pop all over the place while Joe McEachern’s bass anchor’s everything.
I don’t know what acid-blues is supposed to sound like, but this music holds your attention while taking you on a cerebral ride. Along your journey various musical snippets trigger memories of bands from your consciousness. Step aboard and check your preconceptions at the door. A heady proposition this. Now read on dot dot dot.
Funky organ and a crisp beat underscore the somewhat blues-infused guitar of “That’s What I’m Living For”. The vocal here and elsewhere sounds like it is the result of sedation. Not entirely my “cup of tea”, but it grows on one a little. The main thrust of the music on this album is its’ creativity and adventuress spirit. The musicality of Steely Dan comes to mind on the instrumental “Cell Phone” that features the coolest jazz organ this side of Jimmy Smith. Not to mention some other-worldly guitar.
Another deadpan vocal fails to obscure the Mark Knopfler inspired guitar magic of “Hammers & Apples”. The stop-start rhythms of New Orleans funkmeisters The Meters are displayed in the tight organ-guitar interplay of “Don’t Look Happy”. The Jetsons-meet-cool-lounge music on “Chromascoping” via more way cool organ and guitar. Incredible drum separation and double-tracked guitar imbue “Repossession”.
Spacey Robin Trower guitar textures float around the instrumental “Musical Chairs”. Interesting funky rhythms are the stuff “New Jersey Turnpike” is made of. At the halfway point we are taken back to Robin Trower land only to be dropped back to funkville. “Lost In Space” completes the Robin Trower connection trilogy with solo melancholy guitar. The album closes out with a hidden track that is a slow and spaced-out journey through the universe.
Now back to earth. Virtually no blues to speak of here, but what an incredible voyage it was. One to be taken over and over, each time revealing some new nuance in this mind enriching musical gem. “Ladies and gentleman please wait until the record has reached a complete stop before disembarking.
