Songs for the Ravens

VINYL FORMAT. The strength, innocence, honesty and purity of intention that flows throughout Sea of Bees' debut, Songs for the Ravens, manifests itself compositionally and technically - most immediately with the laser beam pull of Jules' captivating voice. She's so versatile, not only as a vocalist but as a songwriter, that Songs for the Ravens finds her masterfully navigating Americana-tinged stompers ("Sidepain"), heavy, trotting expanses ("Marmalade"), soaring harmonic rock sorrow ("Wizbot") and keyboard brightened musings ("Willis"). Aside from the drums and a few other instrumental lines, Jules wrote and played every single bit of the entire album - including handheld percussion, glockenspiel, guitar, bass, keys, marimba and slide. This is a record that will soothe your broken heart, commiserate with you when you're angry, befriend you when you're lonely and celebrate life with you through the pure joy of its being. Longing is expressed with hope; sadness with understanding. Its scope, intensity and solidity would be considered stunning for any weathered artist; it's simply astounding here.