The Printz

The Beautiful Album
by: tom reiter

Chris Colonna began creating art by cutting the heads off people in one image and superimposing it onto a body of someone else. Not surprisingly, this serves as an accurate description of Bumblebeez 81's first L.P., The Printz. A generic once-over listen will glean an impression that Printz is comprised of one type of noise, rap, superimposed over another, gritty garage rock. Subsequent listens and an open mind will illicit a much more appreciative response. Printz isn't so much an attempt to create radio-friendly music or critics' Top-10 lists, but rather another medium of art for Colonna to venture into. It just so happens he's fairly decent at it.

Fittingly, Bumblebeez has been touring with creative masterminds N.E.R.D. and has appeared with Radiohead as well. It's somewhere in this vein of wacked out beats and strewn-about chords the sound that is Bumbleez falls together. Half the album is comprised of mostly garage performance level punkish rock, on which Chris supplies the vocals. The other half is fronted by raps from Pia Colonna (not sure of the relation) laid on top of semi-electronic loops and Brooklyn-styled beats.

The Printz is a loosely-conceived project executed well enough to make it leave a mark. But it's one of those stains that you don't really notice unless someone points it out, and like most stains, it probably won't be noticed after being there awhile. And if you look at it long enough, something might take shape out of it.
22-Jun-2004 12:22 AM