Bee Hives

One of my all time favourite albums. Put down the needle, pour some red wine, and cook some dinner. Bliss.

Pop music has a dirty name -- it usually means vapid lyrics and worn emotional appeals. Not so for Broken Social Scene, who experiment in catchy, sweeping indie pop. In "Bee Hives," they present a patchwork quilt of B-sides and experimental numbers.It starts slowly with the sound of water flowing, before moving to slow songs (steady acoustic "Weddings" and stately "Marketfresh") peppier pop (the chiming, fluting "Ambulance For the Ambience"), and a few that are hodgepodges ("Hallmark," with its mishmash of fluttering electro-country, or the wailing, eerie "Time=Cause")."Bee Hives" was made in bits and pieces between "Feel Good Lost" and "You Forgot It In People." Other people's studios, backyards, little snippets and experiments with sound. Some of the songs were never meant to be released at all. But it has a surprisingly polished sound for a collection of B-sides and pop songs that didn't fit elsewhere. There's nothing rough here.The experimental edge is evident in the intro, which is just water flowing and distant voices, and the gnashy, noisy start to "Weddings." But the melodious quality is still here. The music is a seamless little quilt of acoustic guitar, percussion, violins, flutes, keyboard, electronic blips and beeps and what sounds like a xylophone. The percussion can be little offputting, but the overall effect is stunning."Bee Hives" is a surprisingly smooth collection of things that didn't fit elsewhere. Smooth, melodious, deeply original indie pop.

I think Pitchfork was a little too hostile on Broken Social Scene's latest, really. The song may just be B-Sides but there is more to the music than just the fact that it is B-Sides, really. The music has a dertain album on its own expressing more than just the 11-piece band playing like a Rock and Roll community. The akbum is also experimental in all the right measure. "Market Fresh" is classic Broken Social Scene that would have fit on You Forgot It In People, as at least a bonus track. "Da Da Dada" reminds you of "Almost Crimes" but nonetheless stands well enough alone as a track or a remix. "Backyards" is the best song on the album. This really should have been a part of any album besides the B-Sides. I would listen to it all day long. The beauty of Feist's voice and the lush ending is enough to go along with the album. "Lover's Spit (Live)" is beautiful when Leslie Feist is at the wheel. THe original sounds good, but Leslie put a more Ivy-sounding Pop-influenced aura around the music. So you see. Pitchfork said SOme songs are called B-Sides for a reason. But sometimes a B-Sides are the best thing about the album. In fact I think that this album sounds a lot better and less commercial than You Forgot It In People, which is why you should pick up this album, along with any Broken Social Scene, Arts and Crafts or Indie album you encounter at the record store. Granted, the album is nothing special, but that is what you would think if you were to either a) play albums without using headphones or b) rely too much on critically-acclaimed albums like You Forgot It In People.7.5/10

When i first got into Broken Social Scene, a friend of mine let me borrow their self titled album, and i immediately was hooked. It's always very rewarding to listen to an album like that, and be interested and inspired enough to take the unconventional but inevitable route backwards through a bands catalogue, discovering what they had done previously, perhaps finding music not bogged down by unnecessary expectations, but instead music that sounds natural and beautiful, like a backyard view on a summers eve. Music that goes where it's meant to go, without worrying about how long it's going to take to get there.Enter beehives, an album that knows no boundaries, and defies the conventional approach to making music. Broken Social Scene, though they may not care to admit, really had something special going on here. This is music in it's purest form, something you relate to, and carry with you like the atmosphere of past. I've never in my entire life heard music that was this thought provoking, yet had few words.The opening of "Da Da Dada" is quite possibly the most nostalgic i've ever felt while listening to music. What a great way to start out a song, of which slowly builds into a triumphant climax after the 2/4 time drums kick in. It doesn't really demand your attention at first, but it does offer you in, and you have to be patient enough to reap the benefits."Market Fresh" is a really laid back, slow tempo feel good song, with a really loose bass line, and some jangly guitars. What i've always liked about BSS is their trademark style of play, with a lot of different things going on at once. Each of their songs is like an artist and his work, a methodical perfectionist, not just slapping paint on a canvas, but instead carefully placing things in the right area, making for an eargasm, since you can have one over and over if you're hearing something new in the mix each time."Backyards" is extremely melancholy yet joyous in a way, you don't get an overwhelming feeling of sadness when she says "they lost their lives in backyards", you instead feel courageous as she says just that "it's a hard parade just, be courageous" .. since everyone has to endure the same, if that's how you look at it. Leslie Feist sounds so delicate here, much like life."Ambulance for the Ambience" sounds almost other-worldly, opening with a wailing flute that beckons a crowd. After everyone's gathered, a composition of recurring bass line, some scattered electronic sounds fluttering in and out, and a song ultimately moving slowly towards it's destiny."Lover's Spit" is an emotional pop ballad worthy of more than a passing mention, as it calmly states it's case. A perfect song to close your eyes and relax to.I absolutely love "hHallmark" with it's breezy day strawberry fields setting. The beat is unique and infectious, and the song really has you running through the fields, being young again, and enjoying the sunshine. The harmonica really stands out, and the song as a whole invites you in for a nice dream, though one that can't last forever.If you're willing to sit down and soak up this album, it can be very rewarding. I think people that classify this as "B-Sides" aren't really listening to it thoroughly. Perhaps they look at the other reviews, listen to a few seconds of each song, and echo the same sentiments. The songs aren't just "experimentation", and i wouldn't call it that, primarily because there are a lot of things going on, and it doesn't all amount to a jumbled mess. I think parts of this album are experimental, but it's worthy something that actually fits, and also worthy of more than a passing "B-Side" mention. Experience forever with this record.

This remix and B-side collection predates Feist's 2007 iPod-fueled U.S. breakout and isn't particularly Feisty, but her name might get you to check out the rest of this Canadian music collective. An understated schizo battle between plodding dreamscapes and dancey alternarock, from the untitled off-white-noise intro to the anticlimactic but superb finale of Feist's sexy elegy "Lover's Spit" (lyrics: "You know it's time that we grow old and do some sh*%"). "Bee Hives" takes a little while to grow on you, but then becomes the rash that won't go away, and you're OK with that.

fab