SICK BEES: On the One CD

The Sick Bees are a guitar/vocal and drums duo (with a dash of clarinet and keyboards to keep it spicy) that sounds like the polar opposite of the Spinanes. In fact, their approach is more in tune with early 80's artpunk like The Birthday Party or Richard Edson era Sonic Youth. Sick Bees do, however, display an affinity for 90's post (fill in the blank) rhythmic vigor and anger-at-a- distance vocals. This makes for an interesting listen, and with a little luck, points to the possibility of art over alt as being the new choice for rockers. Oh yeah, the sound quality is quite nice too. Tracks alternate between 8-track recordings at Hothouse, 16-track at Avast, and 4-track in the band's basement. Everything seems to have been mixed by Kip Beelman at Avast with a good guitar heavy approach. A promising debut. (RX Remedy, PO Box 12339, Seattle, WA 98111)