27th July 2011: Sea Of Bees / Playlist

Featured: Sea Of Bees - Songs For The Ravens (Heavenly)

Sea of Bees is Julie Baenziger, a 25 year old singer, song-writer from Sacramento. Multi-instrumentalist Julie Ann Bee hails from Grandaddy's stomping grounds, California's Central Valley, and like her onetime neighbours, she has an impeccable knack for infusing despair with charm.

Her pain is the loveless kind, and she conveys it in a voice equal parts twang and coo, backed by lush country-folk and gossamer bedroom haze. The strength, innocence, honesty and purity of intention that flows throughout Sea of Bees' debut, Songs For the Ravens, manifests itself compositionally and technically - most immediately with the laser beam pull of Jules' captivating voice.

She's so versatile, not only as a vocalist but as a songwriter, that 'Songs For The Ravens' finds her masterfully navigating Americana-tinged stompers, heavy, trotting expanses, soaring harmonic rock sorrow and keyboard-brightened musings. Aside from the drums and a few other instrumental lines, Jules wrote and played every single bit of the entire album - including handheld percussion, glockenspiel, guitar, bass, keys, marimba and slide.

This is a record that will soothe your broken heart, commiserate with you when you're angry, befriend you when you're lonely and celebrate life with you through the pure joy of its being. Longing is expressed with hope; sadness with understanding. Its scope, intensity and solidity would be considered stunning for any weathered artist; it's simply astounding here.

www.seaofbees.com

Radio Playlist 27th July 2011

Noa Babayof - Yr Million Sweetnesses (Demo)
Cian Nugent - Sixes & Sevens (excerpt 2) (Doubles)
Sea Of Bees - Fyre (Songs For The Ravens)
**
Colour Haze - Stars (All)
Dead Meadow - Rocky Mountain High (S/T)
Dan Auerbach - The Prowl (Keep It Hid)
**
Sea Of Bees - Skinnybone (Songs For The Ravens)
Elevator - The Animals (A Taste Of Complete Perspective)
Woods - Out Of The Eye (Sun & Shade)
**
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Somewhere In Your Heart (Tell Me)
Okkervil River - The Valley (I Am Very Far)
Sea Of Bees - Marmalade (Songs For The Ravens)
**
Tamaryn - The Waves (The Waves)
Anonymeye - Federation (Anontendre)
Tristeza - Sand & Coral (Paisajes)
**
Diane Cluck - Yr Million Sweetnesses (Oh Vanille)
Sea Of Bees - The Gold (Songs For The Ravens)

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Sideways Through Sound Archive

27th July 2007: Fence Recordings
28th July 2008: T.Carter & C.Kiefer - From The Great American Songbook
29th July 2009: The Steals - Static Kingdom
28th July 2010: The Driftwood Manor - Holy Ghost