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CRITIC REVIEWS
83
Most of these 20 “songs” are little more than fragments of single, occasionally glorious Lennon/McCartney-style licks pegged to ostentatiously gratuitous absurdities. The resulting profound lack of meaning is as intensely aggravating as its sheer novelty is appealing.
80
But the real miracle of Bee Thousand is that it not only celebrates the power of rock music, it also embodies it. "I am a lost soul/I shoot myself with rock & roll," Pollard sings on "I Am a Scientist," "but nothing else can set me free."
Wonderful album with great melodies and charming atmosphere. The songs are very short and there are a lot of them, but none of them can be said to be some kind of filler. Each song has its own character and is simply great in its own way. Fans of lo-fi production should reach for this album at least once and they will certainly not be disappointed.
A album that has a lot of substance for 20 songs and 36 minutes but it kinda overwhelmed me at the end
Robert Pollard at his finest as he places his donut cushion so he can sit comfortably in the pilot's seat. Is he preparing for the liftoff? On "Bee Thousand" Pollard certainly behaves as if he's blown off the aircraft's pre-flight examination as he yanks the throttle back and begins roaring down the runway. Best track? "Tractor Rape Chain." Why? Who doesn't like a song about riding a tractor while harvesting rapeseed during a miserable break-up? Here the band's lo-fi ... read more
Bee Thousand has all the elements of a GBV album: long tracklist, short songs, sometimes nonsensical lyrics, absurd song titles and themes, and the signature abrasive lo-fi sound. However, it's the Dayton band's most cohesive and memorable work. Lots of great and bizarre songs on here that cement them as one of the best indie rock bands to come out of Ohio.
Fave tracks: Hardcore UFO's, Tractor Rape Chain, Smothered In Hugs, Gold Star For Robot Boy, A Big Fan Of The Pigpen, Queen Of Cans and ... read more
Fave tracks: Hardcore UFO's, Tractor Rape Chain, Smothered In Hugs, Gold Star For Robot Boy, A Big Fan Of The Pigpen, Queen Of Cans and ... read more
MASTERPIECE
Bee Thousand is just so incredibly blissful. I don't like using the term "lo-fi" that much due to its overuse in favor of jazz-tinged trap over what it actually means, but if it could be applied to any album, this would be it. The instrumentation is jangly and sometimes hard to distinguish, the recording is rough yet warm, and as a whole it has an enveloping atmosphere that soothes when it needs to and surprises when it needs to. I don't even know what I'm saying, this is ... read more
Bee Thousand is just so incredibly blissful. I don't like using the term "lo-fi" that much due to its overuse in favor of jazz-tinged trap over what it actually means, but if it could be applied to any album, this would be it. The instrumentation is jangly and sometimes hard to distinguish, the recording is rough yet warm, and as a whole it has an enveloping atmosphere that soothes when it needs to and surprises when it needs to. I don't even know what I'm saying, this is ... read more
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Year End Lists
| #10 | / | Spin |
Track List
- Hardcore UFO's
- Buzzards And Dreadful Crows
- Tractor Rape Chain
- The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
- Hot Freaks
- Smothered In Hugs
- Yours To Keep
- Echos Myron
- Gold Star For Robot Boy
- Awful Bliss
- Mincer Ray
- A Big Fan Of The Pigpen
- Queen Of Cans And Jars
- Her Psychology Today
- Kicker Of Elves
- Ester's Day
- Demons Are Real
- I Am A Scientist
- Peep-Hole
- You're Not An Airplane
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Added on: May 5, 2012