Drawn From Bees - Cautionary Tales For The Lionhearted
2011, Bonefinger Records
Drawn From Bees have already taken Australia by storm, releasing four albums in the last two years and gaining significant airplay in Australia and even extending their reach into the US and European markets. Scheduled to perform at SXSW in March of 2011, Drawn From Bees have put together an exclusive US EP drawn from their releases to date entitled Cautionary Tales For The Lionhearted.
Cautionary Tales opens with "Long Tooth Setting Sun", a mildly catchy number with the sort of vocal harmony triads that recall the sounds of the Arena Rock era. The sound here is smoother, a refined alt-rock style with hints of melancholy in the seams. "Stand Against The Storm" is simplistic, bordering on bland. The vocal harmonies are nice, but lead vocalist Dan James is whiney in a Michael Stipe manner that's cloying. "The East Wood Fox" suffers the same malady. Things look brighter on "Picture Show", an emotive and melodic number that borders on emotionally overwrought but never quite tumbles down that hill. Drawn From Bees closes with "Waiting For The End", mired in a Smiths-style darkness that is desolately bland.
Drawn From Bees will find fans amongst the disaffected and lost souls who cling to acts such as The Smiths, The Cure and Morrissey; a not inconsiderable demographic. But while Cautionary Tales For The Lionhearted comes from the same emotionally listless state that inspired those artists, Drawn From Bees never quite displays the musicality or magic to overcome their pathos.
Rating: 1.5 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about Drawn From Bees at http://www.drawnfrombees.com/ or www.myspace.com/drawnfrombees. Cautionary Tales For The Lionhearted is available from Amazon.com as a CD
or Download.
The album is also available digitally from iTunes.