honeybee table at the butterfly feast - Teen Suicide: Review

Teen Suicide

is the lo-fi indie and experimental music project of Baltimore musician Sam Ray who solidified their status in the early 2010's as one of the most intriguing underground acts in the indie circuit, culminating in their acclaimed 2016 album It's The Big Joyous Celebration, Let's Stir The Honeypot. After changing the name of the band to American Pleasure Club and operating under that moniker for numerous releases, honeybee table is the return of the Teen Suicide name for the first time since Big Joyous Celebration. 

Review by Lav:

I think I was a sophomore in high school when I saw teen suicide in concert for the first time and bought a Stir The Honeypot shirt. For the next few years I wore that shirt a genuinely exhausting amount of times. To me Teen Suicide was one of those bands that only cool people liked and if I saw anyone in a Teen Suicide shirt I would assume they were cool and hoped for that same courtesy in return. Does that make me look like even more of a dork in retrospect, sure, but it also speaks to how the reserved sonic palette and emotional rawness of the band's sound in their early days affected people. Even when the band switched their name to American Pleasure Club I was along for the ride as they dropped a great record in the more familiar sounding A Whole Fucking Lifetime Of This and then completely went off the rails on their most experimental project to date Fucking Bliss, both of which work to inform this new album. 

honeybee table at the butterfly feast is a versatile record and while there are definitely ways that could be a backhanded compliment, here it's nothing shy of impressive. While I wasn't crazy about the records lead single everything since has been an absolute home run. death wish kick-starts the record immediately after a short instrumental intro with raw screamed vocals and crashing cymbals both of which just blow out the already fuzzy mix. It's such an exciting way to get thrown headfirst into the album by a song that works as both a great single and great opener. 

get high, breathe underwater (#3) was another single that got me really hyped for the record and I still totally love it. The methodical drum loops and the way the piano phrase cuts itself in and out all sound great together. This is also another example of Sam's reserved but still impactful vocal style in top form. My favorite of the singles and what might still be my favorite song on the entire record is the hilariously titled new strategies for telemarketing through precognitive dreams. The cascading shoegazey guitar leads are absolutely infectious and the sweet vocal harmonies are an irresistible compliment. It's been a few weeks and I just can't shake the hold the song has on me. 

The compliments for Sam's vocals don't end there, in fact his performances are versatile and enticing throughout the record. unwanted houseguest features one of his most gentle deliveries but it comes paired with sparse instrumentation that stands out quite a bit. The way the vocals layer on top of each other and contrast with the calming instrumentation throughout are enjoyable to hear. I came around to the track even more once I dove into the nostalgic lyrical themes it deploys. it was probably nothing but for a moment there i lost all sense of feeling is the most early-Sufjan that the record ever sounds. Sam's vocals have a similar power found through restraint and when you pair it with the plucked strings and group vocal harmonies it gives everything an almost theatrical vibe despite the simplicity. 

While parts of the middle of the record can tend to lull it also comes roaring back a couple of times, most notably with violence violence. If Fucking Bliss was your introduction to the band then this track will feel the most familiar with its ix of manic drums and unintelligible screamed vocal that feels like it's right out of The Body's playbook. Combined with the voicemail-style vocals cutting through the noise in the second half it's just a purely experimental experience that I really enjoy. That energy comes back in earnest on the track you can't blame me which features a much more indie rock style with ripping guitar leads and a hokey synth line that somehow still fits perfectly. It's just a dreamy, glittery eruption of sound that I really enjoy. 

While I'm complimenting things on the album the ending stretch is a great trio of tracks starting with complaining in dreams. It also starts the sequence on the record that deals in a lot of musing on finality, mental health and Sam's increasingly relatable desire to disappear. This song in particular is one of the most "Sam Ray" moments in terms of the hilarious wordy refrains that only he could have written. It probably comes off a bit more kooky than intended but I think it actually works in the songs favor. Another one of my favorite songs comes next with how to disappear in america without a trace which confronts loneliness head-on. Hearing him perform behind a soft but omnipresent wall of static reminds me exactly why I appreciate the lo-fi aesthetic of the band so much and how it's deployed perfectly across this record. 

This record does a LOT well if there's one place it falls short its a lull in the middle that is primarily built around the lead single coyote. It's a 6 minute single that I've had a lot of time to sit with and I'm not crazy about the long instrumental that takes up most of the song. While the horn leads are yet another of the record's seemingly infinite well of instrumentation I feel like it could have gone on for half as long with pretty much the same results. By the time the acoustic guitar refrains come in on the back end the song feels like it's already failed to stick the landing. 

I feel similarly about groceries which has a spacious haze to its presentation that I enjoy quite a bit but it's one of the only songs here whose refrains don't really grab me. It's also followed up by i will always be in love with youa very stripped back love song. While it does feel authentic it's the least sonically interesting track on the record by far. 

honeybee table at the butterfly feast does a LOT right in pretty much the exact way I was hoping for. While it makes a few slip ups in both the arrangement of the tracklist and with the inclusion of a few duds the fundamentals are strong. The combination of lo-fi indie rock, millenial folk, and the occasional splashes of authentically experimental ideas make for a thoroughly compelling experience that lived up to my expectations of a teen suicide return and has me excited for what may come next. 8/10

Album cover review by Tyler Judson:

I like this collage and how it makes you want to look closer at first glance. I always like the Polaroid quality but this doesn't seem to fit, probably because it's a collage and not an actual image. The colors work together well and help stand out from the white border, but I think the bottom section could've used some branding or text to elevate it. Overall it's fine but could have been done a lot better. 5/10

For more indie check out my review of Panda Bear & Sonic Boom's Reset here