Posts Tagged Bee vs. Moth

STEELE PICKS: 20 Best Albums of 2014

In 2013 I had a list of 30 best albums. I’ve managed to take it down to 20 this year. There are a lot of women on my list. 17/20 female-fronted bands or female artists. Female vox, darkness and swirling rhythms appeal to me. That’s why I adore Field Mouse so much. Lana Del Rey, Zola Jesus and Lykke Li are dark and dramatic. While I never liked The Pretenders all that much, I appreciate Chrissie Hynde and listened to her powerful solo album over and over. Megafauna is heavier rock than what I generally listen to but with a female singer– a feminist and lawyer– it’s kick-ass. Some are more electronic dance music [EDM] like Banks, Yaarrohs, Phantogram and FKA Twigs. Paloma Faith and Lilla incorporate world music, vibrant beats.

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1. Field Mouse, Hold Still Life [Topshelf Records]

my review

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2. Dum Dum Girls, Too True [Sub Pop]

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3. Lykke Li, I Never Learn [Atlantic]

LanaDelRey

4. Lana Del Rey, Ultraviolence [Interscope Records]

banks

5. Banks, Goddess [Harvest]

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6. Zola Jesus, Taiga [Mute]

my review

phantogram voices

7. Phantogram, Voices [Republic]

morrissey.worldpeace

8. Morrissey, World Peace is None of Your Business [Harvest]

paloma faith

9. Paloma Faith, A Perfect Contradiction [Epic]

4PAN1T

10. Bee vs. Moth, Shelter in Place [Aggraveire Music]

my review

jenny lewis

11. Jenny Lewis, The Voyager [Warner Bros.]

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12. Chrissie Hynde, Stockholm [Caroline]

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13. Lilla, The Awakening [Lucky Records/karisma music]

STEELE interviews Lilla

maximalist

14. Megafauna, Maximalist [Danimal Kingdom]

my review

karen o crush songs

15. Karen O, Crush Songs [Kobalt]

yaarrohs

16. Yaarrohs, Flesh and Blood EP [Glass Air Records]

the kooks

17. The Kooks, Listen [Astralwerks]

fka twigs

18. FKA Twigs, LP1 [XL Recordings]

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19. Jen Wood, Wilderness [Radar Light, New Granada]

my review

o'death

20. o’death, Out of Hands We Go [Northern Spy Records]

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new music video: Bee vs. Moth

“Machine Room Reverie”

nostalgic video from neo-jazz–folk-fusion instrumentalists Bee vs. Moth. using photographs from the 50s, 60s and 70s. shot straight to VHS this fits the haunting, retro-vibe of the song. The Austin band’s latest album is Shelter in Place.

Bee vs. Moth  continues to produce unique film and recording projects. The 2012 SXSW Film Festival commissioned the band to debut a new silent film score for Ernst Lubitsch‘s The Oyster Princess (1919). This followed Bee vs. Moth’s acclaimed score to Buster Keaton‘s The Cameraman. The band’s songs made their second appearance in a season of PBS’ Roadtrip Nation. Currently, Bee vs. Moth is collaborating with Austin band The Invincible Czars to re-imagine the symphonic masterpiece Pictures at an Exhibition for an 11-piece double rock band, complete with horns, strings, guitars, drums, and percussion

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IN THE REALM: shows this week

Paloma Faith
Monday, September 29
Middle East Downstairs

BANKS
Monday, September 29
The Paradise

Topshelf tour
A Great Big Pile of Leaves
Prawn
Field Mouse
Tuesday, September 30
Great Scott

Bee vs. Moth
Wednesday, October 1
TT the Bear’s Place

Lykke Li
Friday, October 3
House of Blues

WMBR Anniversary Show #8
Fuzzy
Blood Orange
Robin Lane and The Chartbusters
Tacklebox
Lazy Susan
Buttercup
Weeping in Fits and Starts
Friday, October 3
Middle East Down

WMBR Anniversary Show #9
The Clamdiggers (proto-Upper Crust)
Orangutang
Bulkhead
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Kudgel
Quintaine Americana
Crazy Alice
Saturday, October 4
Middle East Down

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NEW MUSIC: Bee vs. Moth; Field Guides

Bee vs. Moth, “It Looked Good in the Showroom”

–turning the work day into a bananas explosion with grooving, invigorating tune from the band’s latest album, Shelter in Place.

BEE VS MOTH TOUR DATES:

09/26 New Orleans, LA @ The Beatnik

09/27 Atlanta, GA @ Eyedrum

09/28 Chapel Hill, NC @ The Cave

09/29 Raleigh, NC @ Slim’s Downtown

09/30 Hamden, CT @ private house concert w/ 11twelve13

10/01 Boston, MA @ TT the Bear’s Place w Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band

10/02 New York, NY @ Pianos

10/03 Pittsburgh, PA @ VIA Festival – Thunderbird Cafe

10/04 Washington, DC @ Sonic Circuits Festival

10/05 Indianapolis, IN @ The Melody Inn

10/06 Tulsa, OK @ The Soundpony

Field Guides, “Lisa Loeb Probably Never Pierced her Ears”

–mellow, wavy rock. lovely in its murkiness.

debut album Boo, Forever [Muir Woods] out November 11

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Bee vs. Moth: music review and tour dates

4PAN1T

Cinematic arrangements. Experimental, creative jazz-pop instrumental. Engulfs you so you’re transported to another place, another time. Dreamy. Simultaneously futuristic and retro. Bee vs. Moth impressively changes tempos, styles and arrangements throughout the album using varied instrumentation including strings, saxes, brass, organ and found percussion. It’s impressive that an instrumental band can be so expressive. No words needed for this sonically superior journey to the umpteenth degree. Turn on, tune in, vibe out. I don’t listen to a lot of instrumental or jazz but I’m a long-time fan of Bee vs. Moth. The music’s en par with Henry Mancini and the Breakfast at Tiffany’s soundtrack. A decade ago, bassist Philip Moody and drummer Sarah Norris started Bee vs. Moth together and the band has since grown into a diverse, rotating cast with ambitious arrangements featured in film and television scores. Shelter in Place is Bee vs. Moth’s third studio release. “It Looked Good in the Showroom” oozes swanky pizzazz. Feel I’m in the midst of a classic film in “Machine Gun Reverie,” black and white and moody. “The Snitch” is funky keys and horns. Then there’s cheery, super jazzed “The Buffet of Knowledge.” Starting with drums and a cool riff, “Problems with Crowds” makes you feel you’re navigating the subways in a trench coat and dark shades. Auralgasm.

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BEE VS MOTH TOUR:
09/19 Austin, TX @ Spider House Ballroom w/ Peter Stopschinski and Foot Patrol
09/26 New Orleans, LA @ The Beatnik
09/27 Atlanta, GA @ Eyedrum
09/28 Chapel Hill, NC @ The Cave
09/29 Raleigh, NC @ Slim’s Downtown
09/30 Hamden, CT @ private house concert w/ 11twelve13
10/01 Boston, MA @ TT the Bear’s Place w Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band
10/02 New York, NY @ Pianos
10/03 Pittsburgh, PA @ VIA Festival – Thunderbird Cafe
10/04 Washington, DC @ Sonic Circuits Festival
10/05 Indianapolis, IN @ The Melody Inn
10/06 Tulsa, OK @ The Soundpony

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music review: Bee vs. Moth

Bee vs. Moth is a funky instrumental outfit. The latest release, Acronyms, provides the perfect music for a party, dancing, a quiet dinner. The band’s range is majestic, invigorating and hip. There’s surf instrumental [“Peter Benko”], alt-jazz [“Pennies from Hell”], circus tinged [“ICP on Parade”], country twang [“Now More Than Ever”] and old film noir [“The Sky and The Dirt Earth”]. Acronyms is a party album to be played in its entirety. It’s fabulous.

Bassist Philip Moody and drummer Sarah Norris started Bee vs. Moth and began performing around Austin six years ago. The band has since grown into a five-piece ensemble.

Acronyms will be released September 6 on Aggraveire Music

Bee vs. Moth website

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