REVIEW: Beekeeper, Ostrich (Southern)
- Chelsea Spear
Karla Schickele's work with Brooklyn's otherworldly Ida includes propelling the band's atmospheric pop forward with her appealingly melancholy bass lines, singing haunting background vocals, and occasionally writing songs. "Maybelle", her contribution to Ida's 1997 split single with Beekeeper, piqued my interest to hear more of her songwriting, and thus led me to Beekeeper's debut album. However, listening to Beekeeper on account of any associations with Ida can have the effect of a shot of tequila when you asked for a lemon merengue soda.
The beauty and careful attention to melody that marks Ida's approach to songwriting and performance are nowhere to be found in their music. Instead, this band takes a similar approach to Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and its effect comes closer to Schickle's *other* band, Babe the Blue Ox. The band runs on loping rhytms, clean sheets of guitar rip through a song, and the lyrics are replete with poetic references to death and destruction.
Beekeeper's music certainly has value; the telepathic musical interplay between Karla and her brother, Matt, adds an intriguing dimension to the music, and the musicianship that goes into the album reveals a depth of knowledge of their instrumental ability and passion that's hard to write off. However, I'm not much of a fan of emo-core, and though the connection between this trio and New York City's favourite indie-pop offspring got me in the door, I can't say I was all that interested in hearing what came to pass. If you're looking for intelligent, emotional art-core, or if you're as disappointed with the Dischord label as some of today's younger folk seem to be, Beekeeper might be the band to check out. While Ostrich is no Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom, as a bassist's side project, Beekeeper are at least head and shoulders above Quasi.
