The Spirit of the Beehive | photo by Natalie Piserchio | nataliepiserchio.com | courtesy of the artist
The Spirit of the Beehive re-emerge to the bright groove of “The Door Is Open”
For their first new single in two years, heady Philly five-piece The Spirit of the Beehive seems to have emerged somewhat from the clouds, while still sounding weird as ever.
In an interview at the time, the band’s Rivka Ravede likened their 2017 release Pleasure Suck to “listening to a dementor“; their third album, 2018’s Hypnic Jerks, was loud and foggy, like a post-apocalyptic Slowdive. By comparison, the band’s new track “The Door Is Open” positively sparkles.
Released today on streaming services, it rocks a sleek synth groove somewhere in between Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls” (credit that comparison to Zach Schwartz’s spoken-sung vocal) and Tame Impala’s deep bass explorations. Ravede’s voice provides an airy counterpoint, and as the track glides to a dope beat, we hear vocal modulation, dreamlike chimes, and dissonant bursts of static. This might be the Spirit of the Beehive song most likely to land in the middle of a dance night once those start up again, but their trippy roots will never be far behind.
Stream “The Door Is Open” below, buy a download on Bandcamp, or possibly bookmark it for buying on Bandcamp’s next fee-free Friday on June 5th.