Bees Deluxe are at it again. They’ve released yet another of their “acid blues” CDs. Voice Of Dog offers a heaping bowl of more of the finely crafted, driven, explorative blues music this band has become known for. Icy cool lead guitar phrasing, elegantly rich keyboards, and a bulbous but flexible sounding rhythm section are the orders for the day here.
The CD bursts open with Conrad Warre’s large guitar line on “Industrial (espionage).” His jazz fusion blues guitar mash up announces itself in each measure with searing notes that loom large over the tune’s sonic landscape. Warre’s smooth as Jack vocal coats this one in another layer of cool. He takes his time relating his scenario with measured aplomb. There is a recurring keyboard chord from Carol Band that punctuates this piece at just the right moment, spanking Warre’s phrase into ecstatic expressions of feeling.
Second track “Beer” is sure to become a crowd favorite. Lyrically, the song favors having a beer over other life matters. Warre’s smooth, lilting vocal line delivers with an invaluable deadpan quality. Meanwhile, the prodigiously talented guest player Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt offers up a thick, perky harmonica line that is full of whimsical twists and turns.
“All Miles” is a searing guitar driven instrumental. Warre showcases a fine sense of dynamics, commencing with a few brittle phrases in the opening meters before shifting to a smoldering lead. He shifts from one to the other, coaxing a pleasant motion out of his axe. Keyboardist Carol Band, who doesn’t like to show off as much as Warre, layers a soulful, piping spread of organ notes, keeping a careful balance with the lead guitar.
“Song No. 9” finds Warre picking off a few breezy lead guitar phrases beneath his careful, considerate vocal as he narrates this mysterious story. This song feels like walking down a sidewalk after a rainstorm, everything is dark, moody, but showcasing its own beauty as streetlights reflect off of concrete.. Ms. Band spreads a blanket of shimmering synth over the sonic landscape, creating a perfect backdrop for Warre’s otherworldly feel as he lets loose some spidery phrases.
“Fake Instrumental” carries a funk feeling. Warre’s light touches of lead guitar work and Band’s synthy washes travel over Patrick Sander’s soulful, motivational backbeats and tasteful fills. While the upper register players impress with their skills, Sanders, along with bassist Allyn “Aldo” Dorr, makes up want to move our feet and shake our booties.
“Blues For Cameroon” shows appreciation for odd measure beats and beautiful exotic melodies. Warre’s guitar line pleasantly skips around the tribal rhythmic patterns from percussion and low end. Band tinkles out something that was born in a foreign place but feels at home in the human heart and soul because her melody is just so damn pretty.
Speaking of the rhythm section, Sanders and Dorr are the big stars on “Fake Instrumental.” They smack a snappy groove out of their instruments as Warre and Band pepper it with slippery phrases and sweeping keys. Rosenblatt returns with another of his very tasteful harmonica applications. He can play in tight unison with the guitar one moment before zig zagging around their riffage with his own darting series of notes.
“Strange Matter” brings the band back into a 1970s classic rock vibe, carrying a feeling of Pink Floyd and experimental era Dire Straits. We can feel caught up in the sonic landscape conjured by Warre’s considerate guitar phrasing. Guest drummer Colin Rosso keeps a knobbing, knocking percussive feel going on that grounds things enough to appreciate the heavenly bodies in the upper registers.
Instrumental piece “Spaghetti Western” is more roots Americana in Rosenblatt’s train whistle harmonica line and in Warre’s amicable electric guitar excursions. Warre takes the roots feel we get in acoustic guitars and from pedal steel and creates the same tone and timbre, as much as he can, on an electric. It’s a nifty result with the guitar and harmonica feeling like a warm conversation between two old buddies riding the range together.
“You Say Red” puts the band back into a slight funk feel. Riffy guitar, spanking, sustained organ chords, and a loosey-goosey rhythm section keep this one peppy and fun. The listener hears and feels the motion of many moving parts.
Close out track, the interestingly titled “Imaginary Conversation Between Bjork & Buddy Guy,” gets a fine, otherworldly feel from Band’s eerie layer of synth. Amidst that sonic landscape, Warre’s carefully picked brittle guitar lines carry as much forlorn emotion as the keys, making one think that something beautifully strange is going on. Listen more closely and hear Band’s second keyboard hitting a thin chord to color the piece even further. Perfect.
Hyde Park’s Tight Squeeze Studio and Natick’s All Things Audio must have been fun places to record this music, amidst a lot of hard work. Producer Joe Egan and mix master Joe Idzal had to have worked very hard to capture all of this high quality music so well. The end results are just too good. Bees Deluxe have done it again with this likably weird Voice Of Dog album, creating another fun album of experimental acid blues, prog rock funk, and classic rock colored fusion jazz or whatever combination of genres that can be glued together in an attempt to label this label defying band of hard driving, highly conceptualizing players.
