The Bee Team

Summertime is all about indulging in your favorite activities from childhood, such as spending the weekend in the park, challenging your pals to a sandcastle building contest and scarfing down cherry water ice from Rita's. This weekend, let the nostalgia last with a band whose cheery melodies and upbeat harmonies will make you feel like you're back at summer camp.

Josh Craft and Chrissy Tashjian, the duo behind Philly folk unit the Bee Team, are hard at work this summer performing and promoting their new album, Hot Times USA.

Their sound combines childlike folk melodies with mature vocals and deliciously risque lyrics. They've also perfected the delicate art of completing each others' musical phrases, in a manner similar to Mates of State, only better. (If only because Josh sounds like a charming Stephen Malkmus and Chrissy, like a frank mix of Tracy Chapman and Tegan and Sara.) And then there's the back-up band: outfitted with all the folk rock accoutrements they can muster, including a banjo, slide guitar and team of whistlers.

Check them out on MySpace, or catch them live this Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Trocadero. For tickets, visit TicketMaster.com.

Posted By: Kate Bracaglia
August 01, 2007 in Sound Check - Philly Style Magazine

Nuance and restraint are sorely overrated in this age of musical history. Being introspective is great, but you don’t have to sound like you’re underwater to do so. Sufjan is amazing, but we’re not all as talented as Sufjan. What I’m saying here is that sometimes a little bit of forthrightness makes a lot more sense than a great deal of introspective babble.

That is certainly the case with Bees and the Birds. On their 3-song self-titled EP, they don’t waste any time, making the most of the 7:43 that they have to grab your attention. There is no trace of pretentious songwriting here, as the acoustic guitars brightly jangle, the drums energetically deliver the goods, the moving bass lines add more energy, the banjo (!) adds even more glee and the brash male and female vocals burst out of the speakers. It’s loud, it’s pop and it’s absolutely wonderful. There’s a touch of country vibe throughout, as harmonica and banjo populate the sound, the bass lines occasionally adopt the bouncy country style and the drums are snare heavy, occassionally gallopping. But the sound gives way to the vocal melodies, which are bright, crisp and in-your-face. Some melodies are catchy, but these songs are a whole new level of catchiness. This is the ultimate feel-good music. I can’t think of any band that is more passionately pop than Bees and the Birds - they cram more hooks and pop glee into just under 8 minutes than any band I’ve ever heard. They even manage to make a sad song with introspective lyrics, but deliver it in a no-nonsense, no-whining manner. They just sing it - and the brave, brash sound with which they deliver only lends credence to the song’s point: I’m depressed that you’re gone but I’m living anyway. It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time, because it doesn’t rely on mood or atmosphere to make its point - it relies on solid songwriting, both instrumentally and vocally.

I really, really want to hear a Bees and the Birds full-length - this EP is definitely the best three-song teaser I have ever heard. No joke. And it’s all because they don’t beat around the bush - they get to the heart of the matter and deliver the goods. Hooks, attitude, more fun than I know what to do with, and solid songwriting? It doesn’t get better than that.

Bees and the Birds
Self-titled EP
Our Neighborhood Records
Genre: Indie-pop
Best Element: Passionate, straightforward, and immeasurably catchy, this indie-pop EP makes a huge impression.


http://www.independentclauses.com/v2/issues/julyaugust07/Bees_and_the_Birds_EP.html - Indepedent Clause

I love receiving mail, especially in form of a cute little silk-screened three song EP from The Bee Team who are currently making their debut on Our Neighborhood Records. This little indie pop gem is a five-piece with two excellent vocalists, opposite sexes of course which makes for some nice duets. It's just really simple stuff that is catchy and fun. I can't wait to hear a full length from these kids.

Also as long as their full length is silk-screened and hand-folded like the EP I received, I will love it forever. Gotta love that hand-made shit. - Analog Scene

Bees And The Birds keep it short and simple so I will do the same with this review. The band plays an infectious brand of folky indie pop. While it may not be the most original sound, the band makes it sound incredibly refreshing on their debut EP. The group’s back and forth male/female vocals is done with such an innocent playfulness that you can not help but be sucked in by it all. The first two songs here show off the band’s humorous nature and addictive energy. It is the third song, “Waiting For A Call” that is able to show off a deeper emotional side to Bees And The Birds. It’s a bare, beautiful song that really sinks in more and more with each listen. Three songs in 8 minutes…if you aren’t careful you will find that you have listened to this little disc ten times in a row whithout a care in the world. Fun. Honest. Simple. Beautiful. What more could you really ask for?


http://soundaslanguage.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/bees-and-the-birds/ - Sound as Language

Bees and the Birds - 3-Song EP
Our Neighborhood Records


Who?

Folk-inspired indie group out of Pennsylvania gets sing-song on us with ditties that touch on following girls home, sex, and “Waiting for a Call”.

How Is It?

This three-song EP is an odd one. It’s what you might find on the “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack if the movie took place in the present. Inject bubbly verses into a trio of musicians firmly reliant on the acoustic guitar and a subtle bass treatment and you’ve got Bees and the Birds.


Just Give Me Space Between Your Thighs: "Birds and da Bees"

Most Broad RIYL Ever?: indie-folk, sunshine, birthday parties


http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=235016 - Absolute Punk

What a day, eh, Milhouse? The sun is out, birds are singing, bees are trying to have sex with them -- as is my understanding... -Bart Simpson

Bees and the Birds. Yes, the band’s moniker is derived from that popular yet mysterious euphemism for sex, but unlike young Bart, there’s no chance that listeners will mistake what is actually going on here. The band plays an irresistible blend of indie pop and folk (slide guitar and banjo included) that features a delightful blend of male and female vocals. The result is a three-song EP that is the most infectious debut I’ve heard yet this year.

The opening track, "Birds and Da Bees" is an upbeat number that is introduced with a youthful yelp, but its content is anything but childlike. Vocalists Josh Craft and Chrissy Tashjian pull out some wonderfully playful harmonies as they discuss action between the sheets, creating a unique contrast between the poppy melody and the suggestive lyrical content. The second track shows the band’s bluegrass influences in the bouncy bassline and Tashjian’s harmonies, but it also shows the group making a slight youthful misstep. Though it is still a solid track, it does not sound quite as tight or complete as the other two tunes on the EP. The band certainly recovers with the third and final song on the disc, “Waiting for a Call.” This track is arguably the best on the EP, and undoubtedly the most charming. It’s a slower number than the rest in which Craft and Tashjian trade vocal lines and the latter, in particular, really shows off her vocal power as she belts out her lines.

This three-song EP truly invokes the band’s name in its execution, and as a first-time effort can be likened roughly to someone’s first time in bed. It begins with a rush of excitement and undeniable appeal, and though there is a brief period where it’s a bit shaky, it concludes with such a bang that those short seven-and-a-half minutes will have left you restless in waiting for your next experience.

http://www.punknews.org/review/6258 - punknews.org

Bees and the Birds, an acoustic boy-girl duo sounding like Mates of State crossed with Beat Happening. Absurdly cute and catchy, they even have a theme song—“Birds and Da Bees”—which, befitting the name, gets down and dirty while you’re humming innocently along.

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/13881 - Doug Wallen

With silk-screened covers and hand-cut packaging, this three song stenciled cd-r from "Bees and the Birds" is hit! after hit! after hit!. Try to imagine a Carpenter family campfire retreat, with sounds pouring out of a tent too small for Kermit the Frog and the likings of the Violent Femmes /Jello Biafra convincing the tightly packed adventurists that the perfect song is "too drunk to fuck", and you might have an idea of how to catogorize this magnificently well-oiled machine. That being said, this band is all things great: past, present, and future. So get ready to set the table with harmonies, and light the candles with toe-tapping strumming, because this band emits first date soundtracks that can seal the deal on the most awkward of blind dates. For a complete list of dates for their up coming U.S.tour, please visit their Myspace page.

http://www.punkrockpayroll.com/music.html - Punk Rock Payroll

Imagine a sweeter Moldy Peaches or an acoustic Mates of State and you’ve got Philly’s the Bees and the Birds, a breezy band led by Josh Craft and Chrissy Tashjian. Doing boy/girl tradeoffs over bluegrassy pop, they get cuter every second on their new album Hot Times USA, which they’re giving away with admission to this release show. Even as a full band—with Craft on guitar, Tashjian on bass and friends on drums, banjo and slide guitar—they’re intimate enough to make you feel you’re intruding on something. Don’t worry—you’re not. These clever, carefree and sometimes sexy tunes are perfect for sing-alongs, do-si-dos and other shenanigans. (D.W.)

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/14695 - D.W.