Drawn From Bees
Fear Not The Footsteps Of The Departed
Bonefinger records

Drawn From Bees released four EPs before deciding to take the plunge and release a debut full-length album.

The Brisbane band formed in April 2008 as a reincarnation of prog rock band, Glasshouse.

‘Fear Not The Footsteps Of The Departed’ doesn’t play out like you’d expect. It lacks rawness; there is no sense of nervous excitement echoing through it or uncertainty of sound.

Instead, it delivers a complex and beautiful mix of well thought out songs.

‘The East Wood Fox’ is just breathtaking. The arrangement of vocals, instruments, so steady and serene, allows the track to glide effortlessly. The vocals are a little reminiscent of a softer yet vocally superior Jens Lekman.

‘Awful Mess’ shows the diversity of the band’s sound. The heavy drums penetrate the track splitting the vocals and frustrated guitar chords with polite determination.

‘Lights On’ is a bit of a creeper. With its low tempo and etherealness, the track does well to flaunt the band’s art rock label.

‘Caves’ is where things start to stumble. There is something about this track that doesn’t gel with the remainder of the album. It’s clumsy and in parts out of step, creating an obvious grind in the album’s brilliance.

‘All The World’s A Stage’ is also a little shaky, with the vocal strength of the earlier part of the album fading ever so slightly.

‘Why Bother’ is a beautiful finish, with its upward stepping vocal harmonies and tip toeing keyboard, drum and guitar accompaniment subtle and sweet.

Drawn From Bees’ debut release is an impressive effort.

For an independent release – the album has been released on one of the band member’s own labels – the presence and structure of the album is close to flawless.

Despite a few hiccups in latter tracks, Fear Not The Footsteps Of The Departed, is quite simply enchanting.

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