The Bees are a UK band, also known in the U.S. as A Band of Bees (for reasons which I have not yet found…). With 2007’s Octopus, they released the most upbeat, cohesive collection of tunes I’ve heard in a while. It’s downright pleasant. And though it expresses itself in a rich retro style, it also manages to be very refreshing. Basically, I can’t stop playing it. (Note: A few years ago, I would have been able to describe it as “a cd that will have a perpetual slot in the cd player for quite some time.” Now, in the age of mp3s and shuffling, I guess I’d have to call it “an album I actually listen to straight through – no shuffling – over and over again. So I guess I’d have to say that’s a pretty nice compliment.)

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