Review of the New Band of Bees Album Octopus

A Band of Bees have always managed to elude any strict form of genre classification. Their 2002 debut, Sunshine Hit Me, dove into a world of vintage psychedelia propelled by Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher's, the group's founders, love of anything with a rhythm. As the Bees expanded in size (from a duo to a sextet), their sound grew as well. 2004's Free the Bees tore influence from nearly every great pop songbook of the '60s, this side of the pond and the other.

The newly released Octopus continues the band's tradition of refusing to adhere to one recognizable sound in order to slowly pay homage to every musical movement known to man. This time around, Butler and Fletcher seem fixated on genres rooted in the Americas: Blues, soul, reggae and all that jazz.

The fact that these British based rockers have taken such a strong interest in American music is no surprise when one considers the careers of predecessors like Elvis Costello or the Rolling Stones. What's impressive is this relatively new group's decision to try its hand at such a vast array of musical styles and still do an adequate job emulating each.

Octopus establishes itself early as a tour de force of genres stemming from the colonization period. The album opens with "Who Cares What the Question is?," a blues based tune with Beatles style vocals that ties in nicely with the band's last release.

"Left Foot Stepdown" captures the feeling of South American Jazz with a downbeat tempo, while "Got to Let Go" takes the same style and adds a Southern United States narrative. "I've got a job back in Texas/ Cutting the grass before breakfast," Fletcher sings, introducing the tale of loneliness and longing of a European stranded halfway across the world.

Each song is so accurately written and appropriately produced that they could be mistaken for pieces from the time period they imitate. "(This is For the) better days," a '70s soul sound-alike, hits the mark instrumentally and thematically. The vocal tracks seem almost, in a sense, aged to add to the song's illusion.

Perhaps A Band of Bees' false authenticity is the one thing holding them back. The group has shown, time and time again, that they can imitate any sound from any time. Yet Butler and Fletcher never establish a sound of their own. Each composition is a masterful tribute to some of the world's greatest musicians, but seems to imply the band harbor some insecurity when it comes to showing their true colors.

Even if that is the case, A Band of Bees have managed to crank out three consecutive albums that celebrate a wide array of music with the utmost reverence. The Bees may lack a distinct voice, but they have a knack for taking the framework laid out before them and making it their own.

4.5 of 5