Nothing gets my cold heart beating with excitement faster than puns and unusual instruments secretly used in normal sounding songs. The Buzzbees quickly filled both of this criteria with their debut album Hivemind, which was released on August 29 and features a mandolin AND a ukulele*.
A concoction of reggae, rock, and folk pop, The Buzzbees’ latest release The Hivemind is a sweet treat of delectable summer songs.
Whilst doing some general facebook stalking to see what the boys have been up to, I stumbled upon a so-called ‘pun of the week’ article making yet another bee reference. And to be honest, I think I can beat it. So The Buzzbees, I raise you this article; one that will be filled with bee related puns for your enjoyment… or mine.
This indie rock five-piece have truly flown into my life, stung me with their quirky sound and left me swelling with excitement. Hivemind is dynamic and energetic, just another example of why I’m starting to think Brisbane is taking over Australia’s music scene with their buckets* of talent. It’s hard to place the partly rock, partly folk pop, with a touch of reggae sound into just one genre, which sounds muddled but works pretty well. This is something I really admire about this band.
Violent and Harmless is my favourite track for the simple reason of it being catchy as hell. The first few lines of each verse have rhymes that flow so smoothly I’m sure it rivals whoever the latest thing in rap is. Combined with a defined beat and clean but powerful riffs, this song is one I’m expecting will be a crowd favourite. Special mention should go to around 1.50min mark in the song, where the lead guitarist work makes me very excited for all the people lucky enough to see The Buzzbees live.
Track four is an interlude that delves into a more melodic, stripped back instrumental piece. It’s a sweet-as-honey tune that gives you a bit of breathing time to recoup after the previous high energy ones, which presumably you were dancing to.
The final song draws upon a slight reggae influence that immediately reminded me of Sydney boys Sticky Fingers. Except with mandolins and slight reverb. Lady Plagiarist is clearly different to the other songs, more relaxed compared to their usual indie rock style, but rounds out the album with Rick Garry’s signature vocals.
If you think this sounds like the bee’s knees, you can grab a copy of the album Hivemind out now at The Buzzbees’ bandcamp page, online store, JB HI FI or Amazon. And if you’re up in the ever sunny Gold Coast, be sure to check them out when they play Currumbin Creek Tavern on September 27.
*NO WAY!!!
*Hives of talent maybe??
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