She Keeps Bees is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

band from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, formed in 2006 and consisting of Jessica Larrabee on vocals and guitar and Andy LaPlant on drums. They have been compared to

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, the

White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

The Kills The Kills are an English-American rock duo formed by American singer Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Records. Their first four albums, '' Keep On Your Mean Side'', '' No Wow'', '' Mid ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

, and

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer- songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as ...

History

Larrabee was recording an album as a solo artist under the name She Keeps Bees ("bees" coming from her surname) and met LaPlant when she was his bartender. He helped record her music and began attending her shows, until she suggested he play with her. They formed their band in 2006. They record their music in their home in Brooklyn. Larrabee has also been a guest vocalist on

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles " At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of ...

's Grammy-nominated album ''

Black Light A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave ( UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a se ...

''. They have supported

The Joy Formidable The Joy Formidable is a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 2007 in Mold, Flintshire, and currently based in London, England. The band consists of Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan (lead vocals, guitar), Rhydian Dafydd (bass, vocals) and Matthew James ...

, and played at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

in 2010. They signed to Domino Publishing in July 2010. Their third album ''Dig On'', recorded during November 2010 in a log home in the Catskill Mountains, was released in July 2011.

Members

Jessica Larrabee is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been in other bands. She taught her partner Andy LaPlant to play drums; he is a recording engineer and producer. Larrabee says of their playing that "I sing until my stomach hurts while Andy beats the shit out the drums." and has acknowledged comparisons to

Reception

The ''Guardian'' said that "they're like the

in reverse." Drowned in Sound said of Larrabee that "she has amazing control over her vocals, able to simultaneously be fiery and reserved, seductive and vaguely crude", and fellow Brooklyn musician

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...

said "she has one of the best voices I have ever heard and she has more soul in one finger than most female singers have in our scene." The ''New York Timess ArtsBeat compared her to PJ Harvey, but added that "far from Ms. Harvey’s theatrical poise, Ms. Larrabee is loose, vehement and unchoreographed, jittering around the stage." The Quietus said of ''Nests'' that "the album does its duty, forms a songbook for the pissed off, the heavy-lidded and the sultry." ''The Observer'' said it was "sparse, soulful and defiantly retro." Contact Music argued that "in some parts the album isn’t an easy listen but once you’re in to it, it’s very rewarding."

Discography

Albums

*''Minisink Hotel'', self-released, 2006 *''Shhhh EP'', self-released, 2007 *''Nests'', self-released, 2008 (UK release, names Records, 2009. 2016 BB*Island) *''Revival EP'', UK (names Records), 2009 *''Dig On'', self-released, 2011 *''Eight Houses'', Future Gods (US) and BB*Island (EU), 2014 *''Kinship'', Ba Da Bing (US) and BB*Island (Europe), 2019

Singles

*"SKB-005", 7" single, 2010 *"SKB-007" 7" single, 2012 *"Our Bodies" 7" single, 2017 (Charity Single)

References

External links

*
Music on Bandcamp.com
*
podcast/interview
{{Authority control American blues rock musical groups Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical groups established in 2006 Rock music duos