Reviews

I have reached a point in my life where I basically hate all emo.  Unfortunately, it just won’t die all together.  Instead it either becomes more of a throwback or it just gets stripped down more and more each time; as instruments are lost, others are added and as much as I may be talking out of my ass, simple is not always best.
 
Enter the Bees and the Birds, or as they are now know, The Bee Team.  Stripped down, neo bluegrass-emo for all of you in need of a ray of sunshine in your dark, depressed world.  Their three song EP, which I assume is titled birds and da bees, is nearly eight minutes of poppy acoustic emo songs about girls…and is ultimately very annoying.
 
The dichotomy of male and female voices in a band can either be a blessing or a curse.  It generally works quite well when a) both voices are good or b) when one is better than the other.  Unfortunately personally I found that both voices were comparable to nails on a chalkboard.  And the uber jangly music did not help either.  I like my pop music happy and poppy and my emo intricate and whiny.  The two can meld together, but it has definitely been done way better than this.
 
The first track “birds and da bees,” is very grating on the ears.  Honestly, I might as well have listened to one of the songs the Brady kids sang.  The lyrics are nearly pre-pubescent and the jangly acoustic guitar could be better used by another band.
 
The second track, “I’ll Follow You Home,” isn’t any better.  It’s just annoying.  I can’t even pull out a witty response because I don’t want to be listening to this.  I need a bottle of Jameson and some Motorhead so my balls might grow back, which will hopefully remedy this record.  The dual vocals, again, are a little to orchestrated in a sing songy fashion.  The only redeeming qualities are the usage of a harmonica and banjo.
 
The final song, “Waiting for a Call,” is the only decent track.  Oddly enough it is also the most stripped down.  The solo acoustic guitar paired with the dual vocalists makes for a good track.  It’s actually a good song.  It’s concise and to the point; no filler, no excess bullshit.  This may be the band at their best and the way they should always be.
 
Overall, this EP is like a bad open mic night that you just have to sit through until your friend plays later.  There is nothing exceptional or noteworthy about it.  And after having listened to this around five times, I want my forty minutes back, not to mention my balls.
 
I give this record one out of five stars.