OK, not folk. I know. Forgive me, for I cannot resist this band. Every Step's a Yes, the Isle of Wight based Bees' first release since early 2007, doesn't put a foot wrong. Produced by front man and multi-instrumentalist Paul Butler, this is an understated, mature, intimate album, more considered than predecessor Octopus with more saunter than swagger.Immaculate opener I Really Need Love does hint at the Bees of old, sashaying jauntily beneath Butler's fervently yearning vocals, and the ambience is again suffused with a soulful, psychedelic sixties sound. However, this record is a mellow affair, more experimental in instrumentation than composition. The aim, says bassist Aaron Fletcher, was to create 'universal songs', but the result is nothing so bland. Effortlessly fluent throughout, a sophisticated succession of introspective, delicately written, brightly tranquil tracks is broken only by samba-infused, spirited rollick that closes the album and comes closest to emulating anarchic back catalogue cousins.
On Every Step's a Yes the band immediately find their groove and, being The Bees, are far too classy to let that groove become a rut. Winter Rose's riff and percussion are fabulously atmospheric, the emotional No More Excuses understatedly stirring and Pressure Makes me Lazy shimmers to a railway rhythm. It's a moreish medley that skips between styles and, although lacking instant infectiousness, offers unhurried, fuzzy warmth. Unpretentious and intrinsically cheering, no Bees album ever outstays its welcome: the latest effort is ephemeral bliss.
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