Artist Mouthful Of Bees

Mouthful Of Bees became a local buzz band, appropriately enough, on the strength of its poppy, slightly psychedelic 2007 debut, The End. Sophomore records always raise the ante, requiring a band to prove it didn't use up all its good ideas on the first try, but the Bees' 2009 self-titled album more than meets that challenge, giving a delicate polish to The End's craftsmanship. Mouthful Of Bees is a downbeat, nighttime record that revels in intimacy—the screech of feedback has been traded for acoustic strings. Taking advantage of the expanded possibilities offered by indie-rock bands like Tortoise, the Bees appropriate from whatever genres suit their needs, blending folk-rock, twee-pop, and the machismo of grunge and punk into a kaleidoscope of sound.

Updated 12/21/2009