Let It Bee

reviewed by dave heaton

The Italian label My Honey's compilation Let It Bee has a cute and fun title, with bumblebees playing instruments on the cover. And fun and cute is the basic demeanor of the compilation, as the indie-pop musicians were apparently asked to write songs around the basic theme of bees and honey. You might expect it to get too sickly sweet, and it does, but only for brief moments. With 20 musicians – ranging for me from old favorites to new names – there's enough variety, and talent, here to keep things at least interesting and sometimes exciting.

A few offer solid melodies along with lyrics so cute they make me wince a bit. But the best approach the subject in less expected ways, by, for instance, using the bee theme in a more universal way while still having fun with it, like the Smitten's great clap-alog, sing-along, beckoning tune "C'mon! (When the Grass Grows Tall and Green)", built on multiple singers singing in harmony. Or by the music not sounding too honey-bee happy, at least not simply so: Louisa Mandou Um Beijo's track turns up the guitars in a '90s-altrock way, but then keeps the melody poppy, adding horns to boot.

Or by finding an emotional hook beyond the obvious. Celestial looks towards Sarah Records-style melancholy for their tale of a "Former Beekeeper." Sebastian Fors & The Ones That Got Away similarly go for the bittersweet in more of a delicate/rough folk-pop tune, recounting a "Birds and the Bees" talk. Mocca's "It's Over Now" is a great lovelorn kiss-off ballad. Ther Shermans' "Sweet as Honey" is typically sad/sweet, with its chorus "sweet as honey / cold as ice." And Linda Guilala's "La Reina Debe Morir" sounds in style like it could be a Shermans song from yesteryear, albeit sung in Spanish.

The more I listen, the more excited I am about this album. And the more excited I get about the idea of themed compilations, of DIY musicians coming together around one theme. Think of all the possible themes: this whole music-making thing should be fun sometimes, right?

{www.myhoney.it}