Voice of the Beehive - Joann D.Ball

The buzz is back! I recently caught up with sisters Tracey Bryn and Missy Belland, otherwise known as Voice of the Beehive, a few hours before their first Southern California gig in several years. Obviously thrilled and excited about being back in the land of sun and surf and playing a brand new batch of songs live, Tracey and Missy were also quite aware of just how far they've come during the last few years.

"Did you see we passed a Birmingham Drive and a Manchester Avenue on our way down here to San Diego?" Tracey asks Missy as the three of us walk to a restaurant across the street from the venue. "Yeah," Missy responds, to which she quickly adds "there was also a town called Cardiff-By-The-Sea, too."

Despite the miles, memories of a decade in Britain are quite near to these California natives. After relocating to London in the mid-eighties, Tracey and Missy formed Voice of the Beehive with a few blokes and soon got signed to London Records (part of PolyGram). Their 1988 debut album Let It Bee was full of aggressive, edgy guitar-driven pop songs fueled by a bizarre sense of humor and fashion. The more refined, but equally catchy Honey Lingers followed in 1991 to fans' delight. But soon afterward the Beehive began to fall apart. Drummer Woody returned to his previous band Madness, the other guys drifted away and the band was released from their record contract. Around the same time, Tracey and Missy lost the men in their personal lives when love relationships when awry. It was only by comforting and supporting each other the way sisters and best girlfriends do during such crises that Tracey and Missy were able to recover from such painful stings.

Last year, the Beehive duo returned to the studio and recruited producer Peter Vettese to help craft some new songs. The result is Sex & Misery (Discovery Records), a story of innocence lost and independence gained.

Consumable: You've now permanently relocated to California. How does it feel to be back here, with a new record label, a new record and doing some live shows?

Tracey: It feels great!

Missy: It's like starting over.

T: Definitely.

M: This is really the first proper gig and the band is new. I just want us to be our best and I feel that in England people knew what we were about. Here I hope they understand the humor in the band. I hope that they get the message. I always thought America would love the band.

C: I understand the new record (_Sex & Misery) was actually released in Britain months before it was released here in April.

T: Yeah. We did "Angel Come Down" [as the first single] thinking Britain, mellow, beautiful pop tune, they were gonna love it. Well, everybody was going, 'where is the Beehive, this doesn't sound like the Beehive.' We were surprised. We thought they'd go 'wow, this is very different and brave."

M: We wanted to comeback with like 'whoa, who's that? It's the Beehive? Oh, my God!' But it totally backfired. It could have been brilliant though.

T: The only way you know is if you try.

M: So we came here and since that didn't work [we thought we'd do it] with a proper pop song now.

C: And that song would be "Scary Kisses."

M: Yes, and it's a totally fun song. It's like summer, with the top down, driving down the road. And I like the second single, too, which is "So Hard."

T: Even from the beginning "Scary Kisses" just takes off [imitates the opening chords of the song]. Missy always says it reminds her of our song "I Say Nothing" from the first record with that bright, glistening kind of sound.

M: That's true. But overall, this album is different from the first two records because they were written on guitar and this one was written on keyboards.

C: One of the things I noticed that's different about this album is that the lyrics seem much more complex than they appear on the surface. Like the song "Playing House," for instance. What's the story behind that song?

T: It's about men who have been swindled or gently connived into marrying when they really didn't want to. And then, when things aren't going too well, their women get pregnant. Then they [as a couple] are not really happy. And then the whole sick thing starts.

C: So, playing house, which is something so fun and childish becomes something so adult and serious.

T: Yes, that's it! That's the spin, that's the twist.

M: Why, Tracey, I didn't even know you did that with the song! She's just brilliant, isn't she?

C: You're also writing with a few other people this time around. What led to the collaboration with Andy Partridge of XTC on "Blue in Paradise?"

T: Our manager called and said do you want to write a song with Andy Partridge. And I said no. But then I panicked because I thought he's one of the best songwriters, really, a brilliant pop songwriter. I thought "what could I contribute?" But I thought I'd give it a try and learn from him, which I did. It was like a songwriting, eight-hour crash course. Andy and I literally worked on the music side by side and then I took it away and did the lyrics.

C: And what was the process for the rest of the new songs?

T: On the rest of the songs, our producer Pete did a good part of the music and then I would take it home and work on the lyrics.

M: And then I would get the songs and work on the harmonies.

C: There's so much going on on this new record - a variety of instruments and sounds and more complex lyrics. Does it reflect what you were going through personally during the past few years?

T: The records all seem like journals. Especially on this third record, it kind of closes that chapter, horrible chapter in my life.

C: Was it therapeutic in that sense?

T: Oh, absolutely.

C: So, how does it feel to constantly keep opening your journal and reading aloud from it when you perform live?

T: That's exactly what it is.

M: It isn't really a problem for us, though, because the songs are positioned in a really manic, upbeat set. We're doing more upbeat tunes from the album than the sad ones. And even though "Heavenly" sounds sad, it really is such a joyful song.

T: "Heavenly" is just such a comforting song. I just love to sing it because I can relive all the joy of what the song is about. And songs like "I Say Nothing" [from Let It Bee_] I just love playing again. And "Beat of Love" [also from Let It Bee_] is fresh now because we haven't played it in several years.

C: Voice of the Beehive had a sizable college audience when the debut record Let It Bee came out. Do you think some of those listeners will turn up at shows?

T: I think so. I think also the good thing is that this record is more grown up and more sophisticated. Our audience has grown just like we have.

M: Our music still has the lyrical sass that attracts youth. We'll still have fans that age [late teens], but I think slower songs like "Angel Come Down" and "Moonblind" will appeal to older people.

C: You mentioned youth. What was it like for the two of you as kids, growing up?

M: We used to fight so badly.

T: There was a lot of tension in the house when we were growing up there.

C: So how did things change?

M: I'll tell you how things changed. I went to boarding school and Tracey went to college and we were separated. I'm four years younger than her. Anyway, we would turn up at Christmastime with virtually the same outfit on, the same tapes in the back of the car, and it was just uncanny.

C: And since then you've been on the same wavelength.

T & M: Right!

C: With all the ups and downs of the final years in London, was there ever any point when you thought you might lose each other?

M: No, oh my god, no.

T: We're stuck together forever.

Tracey Bryn and Missy Belland may be older, wiser and more free, but they're still able to deliver that unique brand of honey pop that is Voice of the Beehive.