The Days of Lore

Swimming in a Sea of Bees

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 | musiX, pdX

I like sad music, though I haven’t really listened to much of it in the past couple years—mainly because it hasn’t fit my mood …  plus a lot of it is boring. Then I was introduced to Julie Baenziger.

Sea of Bees makes me wish I was sad. Her latest LP Songs For the Ravens (out June 1 on Crossbill Records) centers around that haunting voice, but there’s much more to it. The songs are filled with odd arrangements and intricate layers, and Baenziger played most of the instruments herself … wait, this is her debut?!

Well, actually, Sea of Bees released the Bee Eee Pee last year (recorded in one day after getting a quick ProTools lesson from producer and Tape Op publisher John Baccigaluppi). And while many of Baenziger’s performances feature nothing but her and a guitar, Songs For the Ravens is full-on, with an arsenal of glockenspiel, slide, marimba and keys. But you might not even notice all that when you hear her vocal register, which lies somewhere between that of Björk and Leigh Nash … I know, too good to be true, and it is truly gorgeous. And you don’t even have to be sad to enjoy the songs, a contemplative mood on a gray Portland day would serve as a perfect backdrop.

“Gnomes” - Sea of Bees

“Wizbot” - Sea of Bees

Like The Days of Lore on Facebook. Follow TDoL on Twitter.

Tags: Bee Eee Pee, Crossbill Records, John Baccigaluppi, Julie Baenziger, Sea of Bees, Songs For the Ravens, The Woods

No comments yet.

Leave a comment