If you’ve never given SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE a shot before, i’m so lucky is a quick and easy chance to give one of the best bands in modern indie a listen. With killer production, great vocals, and phenomenal song writing there’s nothing not to like on this EP.
Release date: September 1, 2023 | Saddle Creek | Website | Bandcamp | Instagram
As we still await the full follow-up album to one of the best albums of 2021, ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE have released their latest EP i’m so lucky to make sure fans don’t end the year empty-handed. While a very short project, i’m so lucky is phenomenal at reestablishing and developing the band’s incredibly diverse sound and giving you some behind the scenes into some of the challenges the band has faced in the past two years.
i’m so lucky has incredible production throughout with each track having its own vibe and sound. Released as a pair of singles with “natural devotion 2”, “tapeworm” is a damn near harsh-noise track that completely works as opposites with the smooth dreaminess of its twin and closes with some beautiful piano playing. “human debenture” starts as more of a pure indie rock track before it closes with flare and some noise rock vocals to show what makes SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE special. Lyrically the track is one of the most interesting the band has ever made as it heavily deals with the breakup of bandmates Zach Schwartz and Rivka Ravede. While the band’s lyrics tend to stay on the abstract side, the post-breakup themes are inescapable on i’m so lucky and it’s a great sign that the band has maintained their high quality and stuck together.
One of my favorite songs of the year, and high up there among the best tracks that the band has ever made, “natural devotion 2” assures the i’m so lucky finishes strong. A follow-up/sequel/music-doesn’t-have-a-good-word-for-this to one of the earliest tracks from the Philadelphia band titled (you guessed it) “Natural Devotion” which, while phenomena and a bit darker lyrically, is more of a pure shoegaze track and the continuation was well worth the almost decade wait.
Both smoother and a bit poppier, “natural devotion 2” has a killer indie psych-pop vibe that bounces between sounds effortlessly. The brief horns sound fantastic when used, the drums are killer, and the ways the strings, drums, horns, and background vocals combine give the track a bit of a Dirty Projectors vibe at some points. Schwartz’s vocals are excellent and the final harmony is fantastic. Excellent track.
‘Everything between us is new and all i do is think about you
The streets are dark, the air’s on fire
I’ll give you what you do desire
You give me the same just by looking in your eyes
Living like a cancer, there’s a question that you’re asking
When you finally find the answer bet you’ll wish you never had it
Don’t dissolve in the water with your hand stretched out to find her
In the stillness i’ll remember
How you held me when we were together’
SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE are one of the best bands currently going, and you see everything they have to offer and more on this EP. i’m so lucky is a wonderful EP, one of the year’s best, and with only four tracks and a runtime of just over ten minutes, it should be a must listen for anyone who’s liked the band, or has never given them a listen before.
