Bees? - ​Buzzkill

Bees?

​Buzzkill
self-released; 2016

​3.6 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Bees? is an example of a young band that already have a crazy amount of technical talent. The members consisting of Nick Serbu (trumpet/flugelhorn), Andrew D. Herring (tenor saxophone/clarinet/flute), Jake Pembelton (bass), Daniel "DK" Kelly II (drums), Bronsen Euard (guitar/vocals) and Natalie Ahearn (keys/vocals) look like they are somewhere around the legal drinking age. That doesn’t stop them from pulling off some very impressive instrumental work on their release Buzzkill. 

Buzzkill is predominantly an instrumental album that indulges in funk, jazz and rock, and fuse it together. Truth be told this is music that usually sounds best live. It’s the kind of music where if it's playing in a bar or venue you’re immediately bobbing your head, getting into the grooves.

The songs are on the longer side as the band does a lot of jamming. In between there might be some vocal passages but I couldn’t say there is much of a hook when it comes to the lyrics. 

Up first is “Seven Seas” which is certainly a fusion of different genres. Everyone is on point. The bass is funky, the horns blare with energy and the percussion is constantly changing. In fact there are a number of impressive transitions throughout this song. It's quite unique at times. The ending was particularly interesting where is sounds like the band is going through a time warp.

“Awry” clocks in at almost ten minutes long and the horns are the focus for a majority of the song. It’s got a deep jazz vibe and quite lively. There are some great jams on this. I Loved the horns and the guitar has a notable solo towards the end. “No Eyes Meet” features some female vocals, which are sporadically placed. A little after the two-minute mark the band starts to jam out hard and you don’t hear her again until the end of the song.

The band continues with a fleshed out ‘70s inspired funk lounge jam entitled “Wok-A-Taco” while the closer “Later Likely” is fast paced and has plenty of catchy vocal harmonies. 

​For a while there I was worried every young person was going to be a DJ and try to create some watered down EDM. Thank god for young people like these who take to specialize in an actual instrument and embrace the art of creating music live.

Become A Fan

bandcamp

Tweet