Beequeen — The Bodyshop
The bodyshop, released on the great Important records, is not, as some would have you believe, the continuation of a more pop oriented Beequeen. But it’s true that they left behind industrial of yesterday and decided to use more “traditional” instruments. This being said, they haven’t given up on electronics either.
Beequeen formed in 1998 when the Legendary Pink Dots’ Edward Kaspel asked Freek Kinkelaar to open for his band. On that night, Kinkelaar teamed up with Frans de Waard, and since then they have performed and recorded together on a very regular basis. The LPD link doesn’t end here since it’s their guitarist, Erik Drost who co-produced the new album.
What is particularly exciting with Beequeen is how their music is so different from one track to the other, and yet they manage to have an album that function as a coherent whole, with an undeniably personal sound and a real talent for creating sad, dark and almost gothic moods.
On The bodyshop, you get some guitar pieces that will remind the listener of slowed down alt-country, or of a road-movie scored by Angelo Badalamenti. Languorous slide-guitar, lazy (as in slow) solos. And then you also have the purely electronic moments, using microsounds, loops, feedback, glitches, a delicate ambient sound environment. Far from being soothing, the electronics add to the weird atmosphere.
Most of the songs mix both approaches, as best exemplified on the beautiful On the road to everywhere and Buzzbag Drive. Special mention for one of the two tracks with vocals, Sad Sheep (the other one, less interesting, Black eyed dog, features lyrics by Nick Drake), a short and very sad piece.