Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull

[natty]

Anyone else got this? Just got it yesterday and although I've been a fan of Dylan's since Earth 2, I think he's starting to rank as one of my all-time musical heroes. This record is amazing.

[rameses]

Yep, got it.

It's very similar to Hex and therefore really good. I've only listened to it on headphone so far though so the full impact has yet to be felt.

[angelsighs]

Weird I was just thinking today about making a thread on this asking if anyone would recommend it.

I loved Hex so I think this will be a must buy now.

[natty]

It's not quite as sparse as Hex.

[alan_cohaul]

Cool, I was thinking about buying it too--thanks for the recommendation!

[rameses]

I've also got Live Hex and am soon to take delivery of Live Europe 2006 if anyone would like a copy, pm me.

[Phased Out]

to me its Hex Part 2. and another classic

[natty]

To me it sounds like there's a fair bit more instrumentation than on Hex, there's quite a lot of piano on it. It's deeper sounding, more distortion and effects. Not so skeletal at all. The arrangements are pretty similar though.

[purespace]

Here's the low down from Aquarius Records in San Francisco in an email I just received from them:

EARTH "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull (Japanese
Version)" (Daymare) 2cd 35.00
Another Japanese version to drive collectors and completists
crazy! This is the import version of the most recent release from
eternal aQ faves Earth, and in addition to the record itself, an
absolutely gorgeous and timeless slab of dark lugubrious cinematic
twang, this double disc tacks on a live disc, recorded in 2006 in
Europe, and originally released on Southern Lord as Live Europe 2006,
a disc so limited (maybe just tour only) that we never even heard
about it, let along carried it. But it's just what you might expect,
live versions of all the new Earth favorites, slightly heavier in
places, maybe subtly more raw and immediate, but really hewing pretty
close to the recorded versions, so most likely for completists only,
or folks not put off by the idea of shelling out $35 for a record
they already own, for the extra 6 tracks...
And be warned, we only got a handful, so when we run out, be
prepared to wait for us to get more from Japan.
Our beloved Earth return, and continue to move ever farther
away from their pioneering slow motion riffage, into a world much
more stately and elegiac. A sound that more and more resembles A
Cormac McCarthy novel rendered in notes and chords. In fact, some
forward thinking movie exec, might consider having the modern
incarnation of Earth score the next (inevitable) McCarthy movie
adaptation. Blood Meridian? Would be pretty amazing. And almost
overkill. As the sound of Earth evokes all of those images all on its
own. The heat rising off sunbaked desert highways, animal carcasses
beneath leafless tress, carrion circling overhead, old farmhouses
burnt out and abandoned. The sky thick with a haze of campfire smoke,
a dusty path stretching out forever into the horizon.
The sound on Bees is not a huge departure from Hibernaculum,
more a subtle progression. The first track sounds as if since the
last record, the fields have grown more fallow, the creek dried up,
the youngest passed away and is buried in the backyard, beneath a
pile of stones so the coyotes don't dig her up, the factory in town
closed down, everything quietly and sadly fading away, leaving
nothing but ghost towns and weed choked fields.
But the music on Bees, is not all as dour as that, it's also
strangely hopeful, glimmers of sunlight through the slowly parting
clouds, the chords major, the melodies, sweeping and majestic, it's
hard with Earth to not think in cinematic terms, like coming over the
hill to discover a verdant valley, a rushing river, and cows grazing,
fattened on the bounty of the land.
The guitars on Bees are thick and full, but not distorted or
heavy really, just massive, paired up with piano, and organ, thick
ropy bass, leaving plenty of space, lots of drift and shimmer, the
drums not so much a pound as a soft insistent shuffle, the music
moving in waves, like a heavier Low playing country music, or
Godspeed slowed way down, darkened and simplified. Earth is now a
four piece and it shows, the sound is definitely more expansive and
sprawling, cinematic and subtly complex. They're even augmented by
jazz guitarist Bill Frisell on a few tracks.
Fans already know they need this (and probably already have
it), but folks who have yet to check out Earth, or found their
doomdrone trailblazing unappealing, might really dig this, as might
fans of the Dirty Three, Calexico, Friends Of Dean Martinez and other
outfits who traffic in the twangier strains of dark dolorous slowcore.
Cool cover art by Arik Roper, housed in a gorgeous black
slipcover, letterpressed and printed in gold metallic ink.

[rameses]

The two CD version (the usual album plus the Europe live 2006 disc) is available from here

http://www.inoxia-rec.com/index_regular.html

go to the English mail order list and it's on there. $27(US) plus postage.

I wish I'd seen this before I shelled out £30 for the Europe Live disc by itself This was only available from the tour so is a bit special I suppose (at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself).

[James T]

Saw them in Manchester a few months back when my sister put them on, it was amazing. This is their best record in my opinion, although I do enjoy Sunn amps and smashed guitars loads too. Old earth and new earth are completely different I guess.

[mc]

I've been listening to this pretty much solidly for the last month, it really is incredible. The stark atmosphere, the sustained notes and chords, the sense of space; everything about it is magnificent. The first time I put it on, it instantly reminded of the soundtrack to "Tales of The Far Side," a televised version of the Gary Larson strips made about ten years ago; I'd taped and watched it countless times as a teenager, mainly because of the strange music. On reading the liner notes, I saw that Bill Frisell played on the record. Wondering who he was, I looked up his Wikipedia entry and saw that the avant-garde jazz guitarist had, among many other things, written the soundtrack to said cartoon. I was pleased

[alan_cohaul]

I listened to this twice last night in the car for a late night Saturday night drive.....excellent music as a soundtrack to driving down side roads and cruising aimlessly, using the music as the soundtrack for using your own thoughts as to what the tracks are about, seeing as that it's instrumental. Amazing album...they make so much more out of so much less.

Edit: a wee bit of spam, but I have a social network, Cosmic Electricity, that I just started that's devoted to a whole bunch of space rock, stoner rock, experimental, drone, doom, atmospheric/ mood music. I wrote a big "Classic Albums" review on Spiritualized's "Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space", and will most likely write a review of the new Earth and some other cool new records and am trying to create a network for alot of similar bands, or for anyone that has a band that wants to network and promote their releases or gigs or what have you.

http://cosmicelectricity.ning.com/

[rameses]

I don't have one, but there is a "special low quantity version" too. Pale blue vinyl double LP of which there were 500 pressed.

(This may be completely wrong, of course).

[jahman]

if I had my way, I'd tear this building down...

[alan_cohaul]

The more that I listen to this, the more I can hear the Dirty Three connections. Huge Dirty Three fan here....I love the sparseness that they have to their recordings, and "Ocean Songs" is still my favorite. While Earth don't have any lead instrument like Warren Ellis' viola may be, it's still great.

[sunray]

Earth will be playing Whelans in Dublin on Monday 14th July. Tix 16Euro. Hopefully i'll be at this one plus Ministry and the Buttholes all within a 10 day period.

[sunray]

Went to see Earth last night in Dublin and i'm glad to report that they were fantastic. The most mesmerising gig i've been to in a while, they played most of the latest album and a few oldies over the course of 1hr.50mins. It's like a really slow blues to my ears. Great gig and the album is the best thing they've done i.m.o

[sunray]

double post....