Sea of Bees, Songs for the Ravens (side A)

Sea of Bees is built around Jules's naïve, haunting voice, so when these vocals are the focus, 2010's Songs for the Ravens is something of an anachronistic surprise. Without hinting at any "New Weird America" or folk-psych revival, it recalls the layered vocals of Linda Perhacs and the crazed excursions of Erica Pomerance. It's unfortunately not as frenetic and perplexing as You Used to Think, and Shelly Manne never shows up to play percussion, but it fascinates me to hear a record steering toward a bit more accessible place from this starting point. Even the simple songs generally stay out of the way of the vocals, and the guitar sounds in particular manage to be texturally interesting without being distracting. The understated front cover draws little attention to the eccentric album contained inside.