Live: She Keeps Bees

13th November

Gullivers

6/10

Jessica Larrabee, frontwoman of She Keeps Bees, is the complete antithesis of her music.  She is all over the place, and it’s hilarious. Before they even begin, she’s apologising that she hasn’t had time to get changed. Already anticipation is brewing that this set is going to be as messy as their approach to it. Yet opening with ‘Feather Lighter’, from their most recent album Eight Houses, which excels in simplicity, they instantly demonstrate surprisingly serene control.  They take advantage of the minimal instrumentation used by maximising the volume. If ever it seemed like there was a lot going on, it only took a moment to realise this was not due to any complexities in the music, but rather the sheer level of noise. The naturally lethargic sound of the guitars and the swooning vocals are mellowing, but the way they are manipulated is anything but. For a three-piece band, they are undeniably bass-heavy, which is curious since none of the three play bass. ‘Gimmie’, is magnificent. Oozing with 90s grunge nostalgia, it’s no wonder the middle-aged men at the front go wild for it.

At times, She Keeps Bees are extremely dark, and ‘Owls’ is particularly ghostly with guitars imitating each other with shadowy effect. But elsewhere, since neither takes lead, it seems the additional guitar is just a bit unnecessary, only really doubling up to make the overall sound fuller. Most impressive is when all superfluous guitar is abandoned, and Jessica instead picks up her ‘Kenny Rogers Tambourine’ for a stripped back cover of their own song, ‘It Is What It Is’.

Peeling away the peripheries reveals the band’s core substance, which although basic, proves they don’t rely on the clutter of sound effects to engineer a banging catchy song. Never allowing their focus to fold, they end pretty abruptly and then wave an awkward farewell to their meticulous set.