Link to read my collaborative event review of Injury Reserve, Armand Hammer & AKAI SOLO at RadioUTD.com! (ca. 5/30/22)
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“Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself, my name’s Ricky, and I-” “-Oh, me too” responds Rivka Ravede, co-founder of Philadelphia-based indie/alternative band SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE. “No, I don’t think you heard me right. I said that my name’s Ricky.” “Yeah, me too.” A similar sense of humor comes from guitarist and lead vocalist Zack Schwartz (also co-founder), who, when asked what the name of the band’s drummer for the night was, responds simply “Zack.” “Well, tell Zack that he’s very talented and that he did a great job tonight.” “I will… not” answers Schwartz. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is spearheaded by the trio of Rivka, Zack, and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Corey Wichlin, and performs with an additional drummer (“Zack”) and guitarist (Phil Warner) on their 2022 tour to support last year’s ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH. The record’s themes came through loud and clear, detailing what the cost of success means in the music industry in the most horrifically beautiful way. At 8PM on Friday night, opener Body Meat, an experimental producer and vocalist who specializes in abrasive synths and likewise harsh autotune vocals, warms up the crowd at The Secret Group with his unique 3-in-1 performance. This performance consists of production through soundboards (one of which he attacks with drum sticks) and synthesizers, vocals with his microphone, and dance synchronized to the music. The artist also attaches bike lights to his elbows, which perhaps even make his performance 4-in-1 with the addition of his own light show. Body Meat gives his all into his part of the show, expressing emotion through his physical movements as well as in his soul-piercing vocals. After Body Meat’s set, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE steadily takes stage, tuning instruments and sound checking until 9PM. Then, with all band members ready, Zack Schwartz announces to the crowd, “Okay, so we'll… we’ll start now.” The first song of the night for the band is “ENTERTAINMENT,” also the first track on ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH. There is an incredibly true-to-source-material drum performance from Zack on this song, which is surprising to me given the fact that the actual opening to the track sounds literally like two robots in a boxing match. With this song, the band wastes no time in putting their best foot forward, demonstrating the supreme level of their on-stage chemistry. The band follows this up with “THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN’T DO” and “WRONG CIRCLE,” also sequentially second and third on the record. With the former, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is on their A-game in every aspect of the performance: the synchronous guitars, the rhythmic drumming inducing movement in the audience, and the chillingly wailed lyrics of “I’ll be your friend!” to close the song. Rivka shows off her beautiful vocal abilities with “WRONG CIRCLE” in a taste of what’s to come for the rest of the night. Corey holds down the synthesizer for the night, soothing the crowd into a swaying motion at will with performances of more easy going songs like “THE SERVER IS IMMERSED” and “Nail I Couldn’t Bite” off of 2018’s Hypnic Jerks. Also contributing in guitar and vocal performance while live, Corey handles the drums for the band on the studio recording end of things. One of SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s best performances of the night came with “Twenty First Road Trip,” a cut from 2017’s Pleasure Suck. “Twenty First Road Trip” employs a shredding punk attitude, simultaneously maintaining an aesthetic pleasure with the surfing guitar chords as well as freshening the track with the band’s ability to switch the beat on the drop of a dime. I was excited to see that the band performed the title track “Hypnic Jerks,” given that it was my favorite off of the album. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE did the track justice in a live setting, with every element of the track being done on the spot even with the odd time signature present on much of the song. This was one of the performances that also demonstrated the great height of the band’s ability to play off of one another’s energy levels. Zack Schwartz intersperses found footage vocal samples between nearly every song, much in the same way that Hypnic Jerks sounds. Aside from being the lead vocalist of the band, Zack plays a wide variety of guitars throughout the night, backed similarly by Corey. Zack also adds the flangers and echo effects onto vocal performances, demonstrating his desire to accurately represent the studio recorded version. The band also previews one of their newest singles following ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH, “THE DOOR IS CLOSING.” Similar to “Twenty First Road Trip,” this track shows the band’s collective talent in their ability to switch up the tone of the performance at will. “I SUCK THE DEVIL’S ****” does more of the same; in the beginning, Corey’s vocals lead the charge in the punk-rock mentality of rebellion. Switching to Rivka’s more heartfelt section, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE again swiftly changes the mood, sequencing the changes in line like dominoes. The band takes a brief intermission on stage while the suave, sensual track “I Still Can’t Sleep” by Bernard Herrmann, the main theme to Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” entrances the audience. Zack Schwartz shouts out Body Meat for his guest appearance, and gives tribute to the last three days they have with him on tour (following their Dallas, TX show, indie rock band Deeper will take Body Meat’s place). SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s best performance of the night comes with their closer “Fell Asleep With a Vision.” I failed to understand this track as a studio recording, but their live performance improved my perspective of the track by leaps and bounds. With the entire band taking the phrase “save the best for last” to heart, it’s evident that each and every member of the stage put their all into this one: Zack Schwartz strikes a chord not only with his guitar, but also with his passion-invoking vocals; Corey Wichlin, back to the wall now, rips the guitar with every ounce of care he has; Rivka Ravede’s hair shaggs over her face as she falls to her knees, tearing the bass apart; not to mention Phil on the guitar and Zack’s drums, who play an instrumental role in maintaining the quality and hype level of the performance. Put simply, this was my favorite concert I’ve ever had the privilege of attending. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE emphasizes the importance of truly putting on a show, clearly drawing as much effort as they can into not only showing the audience a good time, but also having fun themselves while doing so. The band’s chemistry is not something to be taken for granted; everything is in sync and on point, with the amount of dedication each member places into their part matching one another.
Tl;dr: SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE rocks. View the partial recording here.
Though not exactly a hint of the tone or production of the record to come, opener “private island” does preview what the listener should expect in terms of the uninteresting lyrics and even more uninteresting beats on this album. The track attempts to take a spin on some of Young Thug’s vibes on Beautiful Thugger Girls (because what else does Gunna know better than biting Young Thug?), with one lighthearted guitar section that grows old even with the song’s 2-minute run time. Gunna takes a stab at provoking deeper thought here as well by reflecting on how far he’s made it, but fails to tackle the concept as he returns to his typically insipid bars. Lyrics such as “I used to sell narcotics” become even more ridiculous, however, in the context of Gunna’s “beef” with Freddie Gibbs, incited by Freddie’s posting of Gunna being a rat for snitching on the show Crime Stoppers. “private island” is a good representation of the uninspired, stereotypical trap rap ahead on DS4EVER.
“pushin P” manages to be slightly interesting, gathering a few alliterations throughout the track. Again, though, the instrumental and Gunna’s vocals are bland, with Future’s delivery and Young Thug’s foul imagery of “I just fucked a cup of water” being the few beneficial qualities of the track. Again, Young Thug steals the show on “mop,” with the best parts of the song having nothing at all to do with Gunna. It takes four tracks for the production to not put me to sleep, as the beat here returns to the ordinary. The record takes another step up with “thought i was playing,” where Gunna links with 21 Savage to finally deliver a memorable performance riding on a glimmering beat. The production finally reaches its potential, leaving a distinctive impression in a way that, sadly, is done nowhere else on the record. Kodak Black makes a surprisingly welcome appearance on “how you did that;” this performance, along with the one on Roddy Ricch’s recent album, makes me wonder if I’m coming around to Kodak. He’s two for two in his last couple of appearances for me. The beat selection is okay here, but once again nothing to write home about. “alotta cake” sort of bites off of Gunna’s own sound on WUNNA (see “COOLER THAN A BITCH”), failing to stand out from this previous sound. There’s a pair of bars on this song about Biggie Smalls that made me think of Biggie’s reference to a Richard Pryor joke: Gunna raps “Bitch call me daddy-o / Feel like Biggie, I’m going back to Cali-o.” This just shows another example of the missed opportunity of DS4EVER, however, as this isn’t referenced in any way. A sort of interesting instrumental direction is taken on “livin wild,” with what sounds to be a soul sample pasted on the beat. Unfortunately, some of Gunna’s corniest and worst bars on the album make it on to this cut: “I’m tryna stack it like layers and keep it extra cheesy;” “Codeine all in your colon, you got that shit and squeeze;” “Judging me for trying the whippets…” The next track “you & me” does give a necessary change of pace though, deriving inspiration from artists like Ty Dolla $ign and PARTYNEXTDOOR. We also get a great performance of an artist I’ve never heard before, named Chloé. However, there’s yet another “unfortunately” thrown into the works here: the song builds up steam but ends too soon. It’s not saying much exactly, but we get Gunna’s most memorable performance on “south to west,” where he allows the listener to feed off of his energy while riding the beat. You can feel Gunna’s hunger here through his flow and delivery, something that doesn’t crop up anywhere else on the project. Another thing that works in the track’s favor is that the beat goes hard, harder than any other on the record. I’m soon let down by “25k jacket” and “idk that bitch,” which return the album to second-rate trap raps and beats. The next cut “flooded” is trash, but in a “Way 2 Sexy” kind of way; it is dumb, but it goes dumb too. That being said, I do enjoy it more than I should. We get another R&B-paced cut similar to “you & me” on “die alone,” where Gunna teams up with Chris Brown and Yung Bleu. This one’s just okay, not good. I can understand this though, as this direction is something Gunna isn’t too experienced in; I can appreciate this on an artistic evolution and exploration level, as he finally branches out to something different from his norm; it’s an admirable endeavor. Gunna picks up the pace a bit on “missing me,” where the lyrics level up to an introspective standard worth listening to. Speaking on something relatable to many, Gunna captures something concrete, expressing ideas of not feeling appreciated and being in denial. The proclaimed “biggest moment of Freddie Gibbs’ career” comes on “poochie gown,” where Gunna drops two bars referencing the rapper and then forgets about him for the entire project. Aside from the absurdity of the tweet Gunna sent, what made him think that these two lines would do anything at all to impact the career of Freddie Gibbs? I mean, the tweet did more for both of them than this weak reference ever would. I guess this goes to show how much impact Gunna thinks “disses” have. Aside from this, the track itself is more of the same uneventful trap Gunna gives out on the rest of the album. I personally have no problem with generally vapid lyrics; I’m a huge Playboi Carti fan, and he has some of the most unintelligible and meaningless lyrics of any trap rapper (save for some exceptions). Where it becomes a problem is when no personal unique spice or twist is thrown on the scheme, tone, or delivery of the words. Gunna also manages to overuse this type of rap, failing to deviate from what he always does. All in all, Gunna fails to capitalize off of the momentum from WUNNA, instead reverting to boring music. SUMMARY: Gunna expels another forgettable project in DS4EVER, a record that manages to devolve back to the unattractively vapid raps and stale production of his music before WUNNA. RiYL: Lil Baby, Young Thug, Migos Recommended tracks: “south to west,” “thought i was playing”
A bit of a step down from 2020’s Angelic Hoodrat, this “supercut” version loses some of the voracity and vitality that appealed to me in its predecessor. Nonetheless, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut delivers on its promise of painting a picture of the struggles of coming up in the trenches; this record provides several Kenny Mason moments that have me excited for the next steps in his career.
Hailing from Atlanta, Kenny has made sure to never pull punches when it comes to discussing his origins and representing his hometown. This is seen in a highlight cut from the record “Pup,” where the hook sees Kenny proclaim “Shawty wanna rock with a n**** from the three, three,” meaning Atlanta’s zone 3. With the way Kenny rides the almost 8-bit crunch sounding beat, the grit in this track is substantial. The rapper’s love for dogs is perhaps no more apparent than on this track as well, with the title along with many of the lyrics referencing canines. I especially love the entrance of the guitar in this track, with the way it kicks in the door over the chorus. My favorite moment on the project comes in the form of “Play Ball,” where compact drum sections clash with hard guitar chords. This cut is both an allusion to playing fetch with dogs and questioning whether an opp is up to Kenny’s standards of living, as he asks “Do you really want to play ball?” The track reminds me of “PTSD,” a cut from his previous record, in that “Play Ball” demonstrates the confidence (and perhaps even cockiness) delivered on this prior song. More hometown shoutouts come with “43,” the starter for the record. The chorus here demonstrates that Kenny doesn’t need to yell to create hype on a track; the winding cadence and perfect timing of the drum kick complete the assignment before Kenny actually begins to yell halfway into his verse, a welcome delivery. Some of the best bars and rhyme schemes on the project are seen on “Rih” (“Thinking we ain’t eating, gotta say, even for KD / That’s a stretch, making it seem like it’s eight feet, but this shit really ain’t deep”). Also, the spine-chilling chorus chant of “Ain’t scared of hell no more, we already here” simultaneously frightens and provokes me. The production here is somewhat bland in consideration with the rest of Kenny’s beat selections, but still does the job. A more fun tone comes with the Denzel Curry-featuring “A+,” a bouncy-rhythm song that is likely the most accessible on the album. Kenny flexes his strength in writing once again with the chorus here, where he reflects on the normalization of quick lifespans in the hood. Denzel Curry’s appearance here is amazing, as is the standard for his features; dipping into several pockets and flows in his verse, Curry references the passing of his close friend XXXTENTACION in building off of Kenny’s lyrical themes. A soulful approach is taken on “Much Money,” where Freddie Gibbs battles Kenny for the best verse on the track. The slightly menacing vocal sample comes from The Mystics’ “I Really Do,” which, when I listen back to the moment that is sampled, has me questioning “Damn, how does a human ear pick up on things like that?” “Titan” and “Breathe Again” bring back some of the more slow-paced, introspective cuts that we received a taste of with tracks like “Handles” and “Pretty Thoughts” on Angelic Hoodrat. Though “Titan” is a good track given Kenny’s lyrics detailing his desire to succeed, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table that these previous tracks hadn’t. The record takes a bit of a turn downhill after this track, as “Breathe Again” comes off messy and demo-ish. In the following “Partments,” Kenny describes his love and support for his friends. Another slower contemplative cut, this is the most I’ve seen that Kenny has dedicated to this sound. Perhaps this has more to do with tracklist sequencing, since the album is already coming off of two more down-tempo songs, but this track never clicked or stuck with me in any way. Similarly, “Fasho” failed to make an impression on me due to lazy songwriting and uneventful production. A saving grace comes with the penultimate song, “4ever.” Oddly, this one reminds me of King Krule’s “Theme for the Cross” due to the ethereal vanishing synths to open up the track and included throughout. Kenny’s drowned out but emotional vocals and the stuttering drum pattern here play well with this, making for what could have been a great emotional closer for the record. The lyrics here describe exactly how much Kenny Mason desires to strive and triumph in rap, singing “I want this shit forever and now.” The awkward “Storm” sadly ends the record on a sour note; some of the more annoying cadences crop up here, especially in the end of Kenny’s verse. The production leaves quite a bit to be desired from this finisher as well, as it’s not a tone that represents or summarizes the sound of the record at all. Despite these shortcomings, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut does occasionally manage to invigorate me in the same way the previous project did. If this album is to be taken as more of a mixtape or B-sides to Angelic Hoodrat, I would understand some of the odd decisions made on this record. All in all, this record contains nearly as many misses as hits. SUMMARY: With slightly worse production and songwriting than his 2020 record, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut only sporadically provides moments that can stand in comparison to his prior album. This project makes the most sense as a group of tracks that were cut from the original work. RiYL: Paris Texas, redveil, Injury Reserve Recommended tracks: “Play Ball,” “Much Money,” “Pup”
After discovering SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s terrifying (yet terrific) project from this year, ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH, I was excited as ever by the prospect of delving into the band’s prior music. What I didn’t expect was the stylistic differences that the group’s 2018 album Hypnic Jerks would show. Only relating sonically to the new album in the slightest possible ways, Hypnic Jerks displays some of my favorite alternative/indie rock tracks that I’ve been exposed to all year.
Hopelessly cryptic lyrics load track after track on this project, which are interlaced with oddly haunting vocal samples that sound as though they come straight from some home video. Not only does the eerie instrumental help cast these samples into a spooky shadow, but the samples themselves seem misshapen; the things said seem like fragmented sentences put back together in the most confusing, creepy possible order. This can be seen on the album’s stellar opener “Nail I Couldn’t Bite,” where a child declares “Good evening ladies and gentlemen / I’m here talking to you, but I’m not.” This track is an excellent display of what’s to come overall in the project: great indie rock chord progressions, nihilistic views, and glorious vocals. Other examples of the odd sampling are included at many points on the record, such as in “D.O.U.B.L.E.U.R.O.N.G.,” where a grandfather that sounds only vaguely human tells a cautionary tale of his three irresponsible grandchildren. Though this is likely the weakest track on the album, as the second half doesn’t offer much in terms of songwriting to redeem the first half which drags on with this interlude/skit, it still feels necessary in giving the album a bit of a breather. The slow-paced ending to the song helps in doing this, preparing the listener for an even more amazing half of the record. The immediately lovable “Poly Swim” drowns me in the most delightful way, romanticizing the act. The soft bell chiming upwards in the song comes from the stars, bringing you floating in a pool towards the cosmos. I especially love the few points in the verse at which band frontman Zack Schwartz appears to break down, emphasizing the lyrics as though to make them seem the most important (“This will only bring you pain / … / This will only bring you down”). A point on the record which was not so charming straight away for me was the title track, “Hypnic Jerks.” Though it isn’t necessarily a low accessibility song, it took a few listens to realize how special this one is. Taking a more fast-paced approach to what is likely the most indie rock cut on the album, the track opens with isolated droning synths, then quickly moves on to an upbeat, knocking percussive performance. This track is the most solid all around, with addictive vocal deliveries, lyrics (“Take my eyes and flush them out / Paste them to your wall”), and guitar twangs. An indie folk direction is taken on “Mantra Is Repeated,” where we get our first instance of a vocal performance from bassist and occasional vocalist Rivka Ravede. Weaving her lines between Schwartz’s, Ravede’s singing plays a beautiful contrast both through the sweet melody and warming delivery. Another healthy dose of Ravede’s angelic voice comes with the varied soundscape that is “(Without You) In My Pocket.” This one is a journey, making its run time of under 4 minutes seem infinitesimal. It plays a role similar to that of “I SUCK THE DEVIL’S C***” on ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH, as this track also managed to pack what sounds to be an entire album into one song. Fitting so many great ideas into such a short time span should be illegal. Shoegaze elements make their way on to “Can I Receive the Contact?,” which is perhaps the most openly comedic track on the project; the one-off chorus seems like a desperate effort to get someone’s human touch. Whether or not this is meant in a romantic way is unspecified, but it is funnier to imagine this as an attempt to court a potential partner. The only other point at which I find problems besides “D.O.U.B.L.E.U.R.O.N.G.” is the curt track “Fell Asleep With a Vision.” Somehow, this is the band’s most popular track, a fact that incessantly baffles me. Though it isn’t bad once it gets its momentum going, the moment is utterly short lived as it ends in just over a minute. This is all without mentioning the somewhat awkward start the track gets off to, as it takes off without warning; this can be a good quality in some tracks, but doesn’t work for me here due to how rocky it comes off. This record goes out on a great note with the final two cuts, “Monumental Shame” and “It’s Gonna Find You.” Similar in tone to Tame Impala’s “Led Zeppelin” (but not necessarily in vibe or lyrics), “Monumental Shame” is another distinctive indie folk track. Though it’s alike to “D.O.U.B.L.E.U.R.O.N.G.” in that it gives the album a breather (the last one this time), “Monumental Shame” is different from “D.O.U.B.L.E.U.R.O.N.G.” in that it doesn’t drag on in any way and actually contributes to the consistency of the project. The album’s ever-appropriate closer “It’s Gonna Find You” leaves the best impression possible, akin to the title track in that it’s very solid all around. The instrumental break to end the album pulls one last rabbit out of the hat, invoking feelings of contentment in me that no other point on the record had. This album has such a diverse musical and emotional range to offer, and I’m not even sure that I’ve discovered them all. Hypnic Jerks is a great listen for any alternative/indie rock lover. Though ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH may have this one beat in terms of artistic merit and exploration, Hypnic Jerks is unquestionably my favorite SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE record so far. SUMMARY: Dipping into a varied indie graveyard soundscape, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE pulls out the stops for Hypnic Jerks and delivers one of my favorite indie rock albums I’ve heard all year. RiYL: Yves Tumor, Car Seat Headrest, Lomelda Recommended tracks: Hypnic Jerks, Poly Swim, It’s Gonna Find You |
AuthorEnrique Cardenas III Archives
November 2021
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