She Keeps Bees
Eight Houses
Release Date: Sep 16, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock
Record label: Universal Music
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Album Review: Eight Houses by She Keeps Bees
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Since their 2006 debut, Brooklyn duo She Keeps Bees have always stuck close to their wheelhouse of lean, bluesy rock tunes, letting singer/guitarist Jessica Larrabee's soulful voice dictate the subtle dynamics of their minimal guitar and drums setup. They've remained a very contained unit, self-producing and self-releasing their three albums and various EPs and singles. For their fourth album, 2014's Eight Houses, they've hired some outside help in the form of producer Nicolas Vernhes (Spoon, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter) and L.A.
Based on rating B
When She Keeps Bees talk about independence, they’re not flipping off the modern day scene; they’re shaking their heads at America’s very beginnings. During their tour through middle America in 2012, the Brooklyn-based blues rock duo were caught off guard by the history America failed to teach them, namely the extent of the American Indians’ forced assimilation. Now, singer-guitarist Jessica Larrabee and drummer Andy LaPlant are fighting against Western civilization to subtly give the indigenous people their voice back, as well as their own.
Based on rating 2.5/5
Brooklyn duo She Keeps Bees peddle a reliable indie-rock take on the blues, played with a stripped-down guitar/drums set-up. Their albums to date – ‘Eight Houses’ is their fourth – have remained accessible, the see-sawing riffs on 2009’s ‘Nests’ in particular. No personal meltdowns, reinventions or challenges to the status quo are apparent on ‘Eight Houses’.
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