Album Review: “ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH” - SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE

This week’s album review comes from Philadelphia based indie/psych alternative rock group SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s newest full-length album, “ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH”.

“ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH” is SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s fourth full-length album, and they bring a kaleidoscope of sounds and colors on this often spacey and cloudy record. Throughout the album, the trio presents ideas from a variety of different sub-genres of rock, but the primary influences come from psychedelia (also referred to musically as psychedelic rock) and dream pop.

Psychedelia is a form of art that attempts to evoke experiences produced by psychedelic drugs such as LSD and DMT. Art based on the psychedelia movement in the 1960s often attempts to combine mind stretching visuals or sounds to give consumers an often described out of body experience. This influence can be heard throughout the entirety of “ENTERTAIMENT, DEATH”, especially with tracks such as the opening “ENTERTAINMENT” and the almost 7-minute opus “I SUCKED THE DEVIL’S C***”.

Dream pop, another sub-genre of alternative rock, also takes heavy influence from psychedelia and can be heard throughout this album’s 36-minute runtime. Dream pop is often characterized by the lo-fi but dense productions and various guitar effects. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE follows these trends brilliantly with tracks such as “THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN’T DO” and “THE SERVER IS IMMERSED”.

“ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH” is a great listen for fans of indie rock and lo-fi sounds. Check out SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, which made many of their contemporaries, such as Frank Ocean, fans with their unique spin on the ever-growing sounds of alternative rock and dream pop.

Listen to “ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH” here!