Reviews (page 6 of 7)
Their debut album. Rock. This album is a mix of styles brought to you in a smooth and very chilled way. Nothing here is outstanding but nothing is objectively bad either. The production wasn't great. I can imagine some hipster coffee shop in Shoreditch playing this in the background as they serve you a coffee for twelve quid by a barista with a beard and a top knot, his name is Xander.
The 1001 Most Mediocre British albums you must hear before you die. There, I fixed it.
August 25, 2025: Sunshine Hit Me by the bees Solid 2/5 very coffee shop to rainy day to too hippy for me.
Meh for me
Welcome back to issue 147 of why is this album on the list
Unknown band to me. This is what I would call a run of the mill Rock & Roll band. An OK listen.
I always appreciate being introduced to artists I know literally nothing about, even when it turns out not to be my thing. This is perfectly pleasant but also pretty forgettable.
We have a huge shortage of skilled nurses and yet we've got way too many people putting out albums like this.
not sure why this was on the list. Not offensive but nothing really stands out either
Album 867 of 1089 The Bees - Sunshine Hit Me (2002) Rating : 1.5 / 5 Not awful, just bland and forgettable. Not much to say here — I found it bland and forgettable. It’s not offensively bad, but it never really hooked me or gave me a reason to want to come back. Just felt like a big miss for me.
I couldn’t. ———————————— My non-musician scoring system. 5 - Love it. Would play anytime, buy, see live… 4 - Good music. 3 - Average playlist. Depends on time and setting. 2 - I can’t listen to whole songs. 1 - No.
Sounds like pretentious stuff that fantano fans will get hard for
Definite mix of influences on this one giving a fairly laid-back feel. Torches of Ska, e ok ectronica, late 60's vibe, easy listening. Would stick this on in the background but not really be paying attention to it.
Ist nicht schlecht, aber auch nicht gut.
Un bodrio mortal. Los últimos dos temas zafar. Nota: 2.5
I couldn't say it better than all of these reviews already have. Enjoyable cover, thought it had some promise to start with but then amounted to being very dull.
..
3 for enjoyability 1 for importance Averages to a 2 Black midi would have been a better inclusion
Forgettable and it put me to sleep.
I switched this off after a few tracks because life is just too short for mediocre music.
Really quite forgettable and I am unsure of its place on the list 2/5
Boring
Meh...
2.36
Kid: "Mum I want the Flaming Lips" Mum: "we have the Flaming Lips at home" The Flaming Lips at home....
It was a relaxing sound, but I honestly didn't feel anything special. I think anybody proficient with a music could produce a similar quality album.
Another strange choice for this list. I couldn't wait for this to end, then realized I had lost 20 more minutes to Apple Play's "extended release" version.
Not sure which is worse, the music or the album art
2/5. It just feels not very self realized, like just a collection of okay songs with not much feeling there. It is impressive it is just two guys but it's not interesting enough to be worth the listen in my opinion. It's gentle and quiet but there is a way to do that while still being impactful, they don't seem to achieve that here, save maybe a few songs. I'll give it the benefit of not being bad, just not good really. Best Song: A Minha Menina, Zia, Punchbag
This sounds like British White Guys who listened to too much D’Angelo.
Not really a fan. Maybe in a different setting, but I did not get the vibe while listening in my car.
Never heard of The Bees. This didn't hit me at all but I didn't hate. It was just okay.
Not a bad album by any means but felt more experimental than “must hear before you die”. I liked the song “A Minha Menina” the best, although acknowledge that this is a cover. The band feels a bit like Fleet Foxes but funkier, might return to some of the songs but no guarantees. I reckon it might grow on me but it’s not an automatic winner for me.
2/5 good background music. Not too catchy
Keskiverto! Muutama hauska biisi. 2/5
vähän tylsäksi jäävä genresekoitus. on vaikea nähdä, miksi tämä levy on listalla kun tietää, mitä kaikkea jäi sen ulkopuolelle. onko tämä tosiaan niin merkittävä? 2/5
Another 1 or 2 star forgettable brit-pop album. Gave it two stars as it was never annoying enough that I was like what is this garbage but never interesting enough that I noticed it as more than background music.
Солнечное дерьмо
354/1001 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
I had a hard time caring about this album at all, or taking it very seriously
pretty decent. not super memorable. instrumentation was good! more of a background track to what i was doing tbh. didn’t distract me at all (which doesn’t bode well for my rating). 2/5.
Es ist eine eklektische Mischung aus Psychedelic, Funk und Indie-Rock. Während die Band mit ihrer vielseitigen Instrumentierung und sonnendurchfluteten Atmosphäre einige interessante Momente schafft, bleibt das Album insgesamt hinter seinen Möglichkeiten zurück und enttäuscht.
Mooi dat er af en toe nog iets langskomt wat me echt helemaal niks zegt. Vaak is dan helaas wel de conclusie dat ik begrijp waarom de artiest me is ontgaan. In dit geval was er iets meer waardering, vooral omdat het best wel een eclectische plaat is die les trekt uit allerlei uithoeken van de wereldmuziek, waar het soms leunt naar Braziliaanse psychedelica, en dan weer naar Ethiopische jazz. Maar het weet ook niet echt een prettige middle ground te vinden, waardoor het nauwelijks een samenhangend geheel is. En alhoewel ik best heb genoten van de verscheidenheid, mis ik ook wel 'hits' die ervoor zorgen dat ik deze plaat nogmaals opzet. Geinige ontdekking, maar denk niet dat ik er veel mee ga doen. 6/10
Niet slecht. Begint als iets wat echt klinkt als begin zeroes indie. In lijn met the Postal Service en Death Van for Cutie etc. Daarna wordt het gewoon saai. Lange synth noten wiegt de luisteraar langzaam in slaap. Next please! 5/10
So light and summery it becomes insubstantial
Decent
Boring as fuck. One good song on it and they are just covering it. You're getting a 2
Ok
Pondering and aimless. I suspect this is probably good if you're stoned, but not so when you're mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning. I reckon the lawnmower was making equally interesting noises. It gets a 2 because I can see a situation where it might be okay.
Liked a couple Rating: 2.2
It’s like the Eels but without the weirdness which just makes it boring and unremarkable. I don’t know how anyone could get excited about it. I use Apple Music and usually when there is an album or artist I haven’t heard of on here, the write up reveals something that informs me as to why it’s important. Neither the album nor the band have any wrote up at all. It not bad, it just doesn’t need to be heard before you die by any stretch of the imagination.
pretty weird and boring album. the only song of note was a cover.
I bought this. On CD. Probably off the back of a rave review in, oh I don't know, Q? Why did any of that happen? The very essence of the Isle of Wight in music form.
Nothing on this stood out for me.
I'm basically starting to cringe anytime I see my latest album is from the 2000s. Was this legit the worst era of music ever? At its best moments, this sounds like a children's record. I respect wanting to blend multiple styles and find your own voice as a band/project, but this is another instance where all that attempted innovation just waters everything down. Nothing here is memorable. Nothing here makes me go "wow!" when I hear it. Nothing makes me want to delve deeper into their catalog, or re-listen to this release. It's not offensive, it's just... there, like a backdrop you completely ignore. It has no emotional impact whatsoever.
First time hearing the Bees. I felt like the album had some interesting ideas but I dont think it was executed bery successfully. A lot of the songs were bland and there wasnt anything that really stood out. Overall- it was fine
This started out terribly, possibly the worst album on the list. The first three songs are nothing but a slow chill beat, along with the same line repeated over and over through the entire song. Luckily, after that the album starts to get a little better. A Minha Menina comes in nicely, that one was pretty fun. Sweet Like A Champion was also decent, had some great music. Hard to rate this album, its mostly 2s with a few 1s and a couple breakout songs. Best song: A Minha Menina
Pleasant, nothing that hits my "ick" button. Just OK. Wouldn't go out of my way to listen again.
If you want some background music while sitting on your patio on a cozy summer morning this is the album for you. You won't remember it an hour after listening to it but you'll enjoy it well enough during.
Rating: 5/10 Meh.
I really don't know what to expect going in. Definitely not what I expected, but I like it!
More like Boredom Hit Me. The opening bells or whatever to Punchbag felt like I was waiting for the trolley on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and though they jazzed it up from there the song still felt plodding. Most of the album had an underlying time signature and feeling of moving at half speed. I found it frustrating and I found I kept looking at the clock yearning for the next song and hoping it would bring something different, something exciting. It didn't (except for maybe the remake of A Minha Menina) and I started skipping to the next song before the current one ended. But I made it through the whole album. Mercifully.
Any time I see "Mercury Prize Nominee" in the Wikipedia entry, it's likely I'm about to listen to some flash in the pan Brit album that Dimery decided to include and then removed in a later edition when it turned out the album (and sometimes artist) had no staying power. The singing is weak, the music was uneven, and it just didn't do much for me. Moving on. Tracks that caught my attention: Angryman, Lying in the Snow, Zia (these last two had a bit of a pre-DSOTM Floyd sound).
bland, trying to beta band more like beta bland
This was ok, pretty mellow but nothing special.
Minha menina canción de anuncio y chimpun
Really struggling to understand why this is here. They're like a less fun Beta Band. The vocals are half-hearted and the music is predictable and dull. There was definitely more exciting and essential music coming out in 2002; I remember being there. And this was not it. In fact. If anyone is reading this, just bin off The Bees and listen to 2002's The Beginning Stages Of... by The Polyphonic Spree. It's everything this album promises but doesn't deliver. Symphonic, optimistic and joyous indie rock that makes the sun itself into a spiritual force. A lot of the critical attention the Spree got at the time centred around their cosplaying as a sort of cult with frontman Tim DeLaughter as their leader, wearing matching, flowing robes and performing as something between a choir, orchestra and rock band. The music itself deserved a lot more of the hype though as their fantastic debut combined their 25-piece instrumental wall of sound with driving rock and DeLaughter's dreamy vocals to create a 10-'section' journey that flows from track to track. You've essentially got a more epic, less depressing Arcade Fire but without the indie darling tag. 5/5 Oh, but it's a 2/5 for The Bees. Not even interestingly bad enough to get a 1 and earn a place on my summary page, no. To mildly dull 2-star purgatory with you. Buzz off.
bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Not overly interesting. Pretty average album overall. 2.5/5 Won’t listen again
I thought this was another band that I had never heard of, but it turned out that I knew the track A Mihna Menina. It was used in an ad for something. This is low key, Lo-Fi, hipster music that blends a variety of genres together. Unfortunately it's not as exciting as it sounds, and pretty forgettable. This is a palate cleanser album - it just removes the taste of the previous album and gets you ready for the next.
Yet another obsolete English indie band that no one has heard of... I am so sick of this shit.... This is the same as probably 500 other albums that are included on this list. It isn't groundbreaking or unique, and it certainly isn't essential listening. Whoever made this list needs their head examined. Favourite songs: Angryman, A Minha Menina, Zia Least favourite songs: Sky Holds the Sun 2/5
Det her var egentlig en ret positiv overraskelse og jeg synes det lød ret lækkert, men på ingen måde essentielt og også nogengange lidt kedeligt. Stor 2er
What in the name of unknown indie? Some variety, but ultimately quite uninteresting..
Tiene algunos momentos buenos pero no conecté con su rollito buena onda. No fui fan.
Not really into it
Some of the songs sound rather nostalgic, I liked some songs but not really for me on the whole
Strong start but fell off rather quickly.
Chill, mellow, eclectic lo-fi music for commercials and hipster travel videos on YouTube. Not a bad album but does not belong on this list at all. 2⭐️
I listened to this album twice and I still don't remember anything at all.
Bland. I’ve no idea why this is on this list Not terrible; just boring
Sweet Like A Champion was pretty good, and I didn't mind the cover of A Minha Menina, but I didn't really like the rest of the album. Too boring - the singing ruined a lot of the music.
Not particularly memorable
its not allll bad...
I'm happy these guys got together and made an album, but there is no reason to listen to this. I forgot half the songs before they were even finished.
2,5
Weird, unnecessary and boring.
I don't know what to make of this thing. I guess what I hear is a band that knows they have a set of eclectic and unique influences that tried to harness those influences and mesh them with their own talent and ideas in a debut album. In the end, for me, this does feel very much like a debut in the way that it's sort of...a mess. It's all over the place. Which is fine for some albums, bands, and genres. But this felt directionless. I wasn't sure what I was listening to or what the point was(?). I'd be really, really curious to hear what came after this for the group. I'd love to hear a more refined version of this sound, one that has a little more cohesion and oophm behind it. This felt like they were trying to imitate their influences, rather than show us who they are. Fine for a debut, but not their full potential. Two stars. Standout Tracks: Punchbag, A Minha Menina
the first track was enticing, but the album feels pretty absent of substance
Giant load of meh.
So chill, so un-essential.
Shallow and boring for me.
What a mixed bag. Of mixed bags. As someone in the reviews said, "favorite McCartney album of the 21st century", a lot of Beta Band in the vocals, sometimes like acoustic trip hop for a vaudeville puppetry musical. Reggae. It's not entirely without charme and tied together well enough through the instrumentation, but is this really a Best of All Music? An essential listen? Or another instance of the editors merely completing their assignment of counting up to 1001 by, say, shoveling copious amounts of - all British/Irish - Mercury Prize winners/nominees in here? Yes, it's the latter. Best track and a keeper: the one that's like a jazz band's treatment of Air circa "Moon Safari". One, two other pleasant ones. "A Minha Menina" is crap. The rest in between. But whatever, it's an ex-1001 today. And it could have been worse: I'm pleasantly surprised this wasn't The Bees' follow-up album. Good thing that one wasn't nominated (little quip here, hehe, I wish I didn't have to make, sigh). Bottom line, before I lower my score any further by skipping around in this band's discography of mediocre pastiches: meh, NEXT! No, wait. I'm back. It's not really the album's fault but the dumbass editors', but how this took a spot from other, infinitely more deserving records (just listened to The Notwist's "Neon Golden" for instance, also from 2002) gets it an extra Shit! Now, NEXT!
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: A Minha Menina, This Town, Zia, Sky Holds The Sun Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: The songs I saved were: 1. An inferior english language cover of a song I got from this generator (at least they know ball) 2. A very laidback song, but a song 3. An instrumental 4. A song in which he just repeats the title over and over let that say what it will about my enjoyment of this
op zich een sympathiek plaatje, maar echt wel heel go-with-the-flow... iets te kalm voor mijn doen
A rather poorly aged summery indietronica that puts the most emphasis on summery warm vibe rather than strong song progressions, which is already by itself a style of music I find it very difficult to care for. I can see it being a leisury and fun listen for people who generally have more patience for lo-fi cutesy indie tunes, but I'm not that type of person unfortunately. A Minha Menina is pretty great though, Sunshine and Sky Holds the Sun are also highlights.
Sadly lacking in the sauce department. I get what it's going for, but all I'm getting is the vivid imagery of car commercials. Another really weird 2000s pick that somehow made the cut over My Chemical Romance, because music magazine people live in an alternate reality where the Earth revolves around British indie pop and the trees grow sideways.
Not for me
Mild and nondescript.
This was a mess. Every song seemed to be a different style. The version of A Minha Menina was great at introducing me to the song, but this version and the original are almost indistinguishable, so am not sure what has been added here. It sounds like they had fun making this - I just wish I had had as much fun listening to it.
I gave this two listens, about a week apart. Meh. I thought I would come back and appreciate it more, but I didn't really care the second time around.
It didn’t offend but didn’t hook me either.
Light, interesting arrangements. Not sure why it made the list.
This album grew on me with each listen. I can't say this was good, but there were some nice mellow grooves and by the time we got to A Minha Menina I was thinking of my favorite places to swim in Puerto Rico. Who knows why but find your joy wherever you can, I suppose. Can't say I'd revisit this album, but I'm not going to rip it, which was my first thoughts. Enjoyed A Minha Menina of course. My Girl. I have a good one for sure. Also enjoyed This Town and funky tune, Angryman. I'll go with a 2.5 bit scorecard will show the 2. 2.5
Come on. Nobody remembers this. Make some room for something that's really worth something and beat the test of time.
This list is totally lost when it comes to cult or influencial albums released after 1999.
Have no memory of this album
This is probably good enough for the top 10,000 albums of all time. I found it very bland.
sleepy.
2.5 stars. Was pretty stripped down and indie, wasn't the biggest fan. As a standalone single "A Menha Menina" is catchy and good, but gets lost in the rest of the album which is not worth writing home about.
More British drivel
Quite unbelievably bland.
Diddn't know The Bees. Listened to the album and to be honest - I found that I diddn't miss anything at all.
I started out thinking I'd really like this album, but it ended up getting very stale very quickly. Which is weird, because I love jazz and ambient/instrumental. So why this one didn't click with me, I'm not sure.
Not too bad. But nothing great.
Thank god I was too young to experience the neo-psychedelia hipster revival of the early 2000s in full force, because I would’ve lost my goddamn mind walking around the streets of North Brooklyn if this is the shit they played in coffee shops. And I already kind of lose my mind when I’m up in Bushwick today anyways. Completely forgettable, aged like milk. A great example of how bad this book is at “predicting” what modern records will one day be considered timeless, and how those poor decisions are based on strong biases toward British bands and revivalist acts. As minimally passable as an album can be before it becomes horrible, in my opinion, but still a deeply painful listen for me.
Music you'd hear at a hipster coffee shop in Williamsburg, BKN. Was ok, nothing great. 4/10.
Never heard of the Bees before, and I’ll have most likely forgotten about them again come tomorrow.
Not for me - but it doesn’t hurt me either. Sweet Like a Champion is actually a good song. It’s unfortunate that many of the newer albums in this book are by bands/artists that few have even heard of - they failed to make a real impact over the years, so I guess we could live without listening to these (obscure) artists.
It's always a shame when good musicianship churns out such uninteresting songs.
Joutokamaa
Inoffensive background music. Which is why is all but written it off until Elaine… then went into background again. Dunno why this is a 1001.
A band from the Isle of Wight who had a hit with a cover and that cover wasn’t “Ticket to Ryde”? HUGE missed opportunity.
Passable in parts
Undemanding. I get the sense that the musicians had more fun making this album than I had listening to it. (Which isn't to say that it is bad or anything. Just rather unfocused.)
Average production mixed with lazy vocals. Not a recipe that excites me.
Nice but dim
A bit different, very obscure, and eventually, a little bit irritating.
Solid cover. Let's see what happens. I gave up. The songs weren't grabbing me, the big single didn't do it, then I tried to let it settle into the background. I couldn't do it, you guys. That's on me.
too all over the place to be great, couple very good songs tho
There are some unique, creative bits on here, but mostly its overly sweet and a little insipid - too sunny, all-in-all.
Had some cool songs here and there, but overall didn't capture my attention and I don't think I'll revisit
Somehow missed The Bees despite hearing Chicken Payback almost everyday as a musical bed for the Mark and Lard show. Or was it Radcliffe and Maconie. Given the timeframe probably the latter. That's off the second album though. Summery. As the album title and cover suggests. Plus an Os Mutantes cover (pointless, note for note of the original, but a great song). I suspect had I not completely missed them at the time, this album would have fallen into the "I'm From Barcelona" bucket of records I would have played to death every summer for a few years until I got sick of it eventually and never consider playing ever again. Revised that opinion after the songs finished about half way through in favour of pleasant, if directionless lounge noodlings for the rest. I don't dislike it but I am fairly confused as to why it's here.
Felt like they were trying too much to be Air but they failed
Confirmed my recollection of an ok lounge-ish vibe from an IOW band who were briefly catapulted into the spotlight before fading away again. Pleasant enough but nothing exciting
This is like Hipster Indie Rock - the kind of stuff that you talk about to sound cool at parties but really you don't like it or know enough about it that your self-proclaimed expertise on the matter lends you to be. Hipster Indie for the sake of being Hipster Indie is the most Hipster Indie thing a Hipster Indie could do. 2/5
Day155 - i would rather listen to actual bees
Middle Of the road. Think what they did was clever but not something I'd chose to listen to.
Toothless and weak.
Track 1 - not Chicken Payback Track 2 - not Chicken Payback Track 3 - not Chicken Payback Track 4 - not Chicken Payback Track 5 - not Chicken Payback Track 6 - A Minha Menina which is good but it's not Chicken Payback Track 7 - not Chicken Payback Track 8 - not Chicken Payback Track 9 - not Chicken Payback Track 10 - not Chicken Payback Track 11 - not Chicken Payback
2.5
Not for me. Unspectacular.
When listening to Sunshine Hit Me, I picture myself sitting on a crowded patio as the sun starts to get low, the perfect late afternoon, with a cold pint and The Bees playing live while no one listens. It’s a nice album. That’s it 5.8/10
A little too slow and indie for me. Felt more like noise than music
Not great.
If this was made in a different time or place perhaps I'd score it more favourably, as I thought it was fine; inoffensive easy listening with a few nice quirks. Unfortunately for The Bees, 21st century British indie is very much in my wheelhouse, and I feel more qualified to judge what are exceptional, list-worthy albums within that description, and this is not one of those. A very neutral 2.5 stars
This one is absolutely not for me. It's trying so hard to have chill and happy vibes, but the vocals are just straight up grating. I have no idea what this album is doing on a list like this? What did it influence? Who remembered this band or this album even 5 years later?
Too laid back and wack. These guys must be going through some kind of identity crisis, because their music is all over the place.
Laid-back sleazy slowcore with post-Britpop song structures, some unusual instrumentations (electronic-focused with some 60s buzz), some McCartney charisma. The first half features genre fusions, including tropicalia, jazz, reggae, and funk. Offers creative memorable ideas but is uncomfortably inconsistent. The second half slows things down with hypnotic dreamy melodies, optimistic and whimsical mood, and folk-pop vocals. Reminds me of Low or Spiritualized, but not nearly as memorable or interesting. The lead single "A Minha Medina" is so strange in the middle between two very slow and quiet tracks, and I find it disappointing compared to the original. Nothing special, but it's inoffensive and pleasant. Favorites: Sunshine, Zia
We are going to listen so many English albums. Is this really 1001 good
I didn't really like this and don't think it's old enough to be influential. Low fi beats to send emails to?
Didn't get it at all
This started out kinda promising and then just went south from there. Pretty unmemorable. I'm sure this has since been removed from the book, I mean surely it has. Right?!
Never heard of the band or album before today. An eclectic mix of music influences. Not bad, but not great either. One of those albums you put on, on a lazy day reading a book as background noise
This record displays the band's influences openly, to the point the whole record comes over as a selection of pastiches. It ends up sounding a bit bland.
Just cuz it’s British doesn’t mean it has to be on this list. Someone should’ve told the author that. This was a fun album. The first song was solid, the second song was decent and then it started to fall flatter and flatter. By the end of the album it felt totally different and like an electronic album of vibes. Could’ve been significantly better but it seems the artistic creativity fell apart. 5.3/10
Spotify’s auto-playlist afterwards was better than the actual album ;)
Modern British Invasion-sounding Rock/Pop. Really inoffensive and easy listening. Surprised that this album made a "1001 albums to listen to before you die" list. Not sure what was interesting/groundbreaking/outstanding about this album. A lot of very good albums were passed up to let this thing in.
so painfully average it hurts
Psychedelic rock that felt stale immediately. It won me over a little more towards the end but not enough to make me want to listen again
бля не знаю я чувствую идею, чувствую что ребята ПОДУМАЛИ но оно не работает как музыка только одна песня (This town) заставила меня слушать и не отрываться
I gave it a listen, and it's okay. I'm not a big fan of reggae (broadly speaking, that is; there are some songs in that genre I love, but I can't listen to that style for too long...don't know why, but it grates on me), so the reggae-influenced songs don't do anything for me, but a few of the other songs were alright.
Seltsamer Mix mit guten Instrumenten, der einem aber irgendiwe nix gibt. 2-3
coffee shop music
Guess it has its moments, but it’s very uneven and quite tiring.
Soft, a little boring, a tad tired and mostly just background music. Not very engaging at all. Maybe I wasn't in the right headspace to listen to this today but I'm not impressed.
Although not bad felt a bit flat and nondescript
I didn't like this at all. Recorded in a cupboard and sounded like it. Music for hotel receptions
Pleasant enough but not that interesting. 2*
Quite dull.
Sunshine Hit Me but didn't make me feel warm. It's an easy background music style listen, could be playing in any bar or lounge or poolside in nice weather and you'd not be offended but also not nearly interested enough to Shazam it and find out who's made it. Most famous track is a cover that got some traction because it was in an advert, and it's not an especially good cover either, just fine. Fuck all people have listened to it on Spotify and it's more than 20 years old, I don't get why it's on the list. A solid old 2, not terrible, not great, not remotely memorable or interesting.
Nice, pleasant, unremarkable psychedelic easy listening. Nothing to write home about, there are a lot better albums in the same slot. 2/5.
I can see why this might appeal to quite a lot of people, but on a personal level, I kind of hated it. It was simultaneously boring and annoying.
Sunshine Hit Me Cold.
Boh, banalotto.
Not sure about this album. Maybe another listen needed.
Well. It was ok, but nothing remarkable. Not sure I why it makes the list.
Unique, but maybe most bands don’t want to do low quality loungey stuff with no real effect on the listener.
I prefer Octopus to this album. This one is quirky but unsatisfying.
I found it muddled. Starts out somewhere between pavement, beck, and the beta band, without being as good as any of those. Then gets bossa nova and jazz on the go. Weirdly forgettable for all that.
Yawn
Offensively unremarkable.
Perfectly fine, but doesn't belong on the best albums of all time list. Best albums produced in sheds on the Isle of Wight, ok, worth a mention...
Contemporary elevator music.
It’s fine I guess. Fairly dull indie psychedelia.
This passed through one ear to the other!! Some decent stuff in there damn!
Behh
Just finished listening and I can’t remember a single track
Not really into this at all.
Thought before listening: Ah yes. Another completely forgotten 2000s release that made the list cause the editors wanted recent entries. So far these have been less than stellar. 2002 was the height of my music nerd days and I have no recollection of these guys. My guess is Brit pop with dance beats. Review: So apparently these guys were known as Band of Bees in the US. I have at least heard that name. This isn't dancey Britpop...it's got a laid back, almost reggae vibe to some of the songs with others having more of a psychedelic 60s meets lounge sound. This isn't my thing and I definitely don't think it warrants inclusion on the 1,001 list. 2 stars.
Yawn
Put it on in the background and it just faded itself away into nothing. Pretty dull stuff, Jamaican dub influences sounded better on paper than it did in real life. 2 stars.
There's a bee?!
Rating: 5/10
Eclectic indie pop. Had it's moments.
I hadn't heard of this band or any of the songs off the album before, so I was going in blind, which means I wasn't really expecting much. And that's what I got. This album made me feel sleepy Might listen again if I'm struggling to sleep
It was fine. Nothing too write home about
Was fine; nothing too exciting except the famous song I didn’t know was them
Música generalmente instrumental y tranquila. Ha pasado sin pena ni gloria. Agradable de escuchar, pero muy monótono
Not my kind of music
The Bees is an ironic band name since this music is so laid back it has almost no sting. Bad? Surely not. Unobtrusive? Surely. Interesting? In a way. Zach Braff has certainly never heard of this band, as had he then they certainly would have been on the soundtrack of "Garden State." It's an incredibly pleasant album and I would listen to it on a sunny day, but there is a good chance I would fall asleep to the lo-fi indie lullaby it presents to the listener. Does not deserve a place on this list, though it is less of a criticism and more of an observation the music plays so well in the background you may not even know you have heard it before you die.
What? Why? This is just modern pop. The hit track “A Minha Menina” has nice commercial value, but I heard nothing that set this album apart, and made it essential to listen to before death.
This got old pretty fast. Good first track but faded.
I liked this album, very easy to listen to. Not my ‘go-to’ elevator music but I’m glad I heard it.
I’d have probably enjoyed this better if I’d heard it in summer, but it was two days off Halloween. Also, I’m not a huge fan of just vibes, which is what this album seems to be going for. It’s all very, turn off your brain and just chill, which again is great for a stoned summer, but not so much in the middle of autumn
Bad
eh
Fairly sterile and boring. It felt like I was in a dentists waiting room. Not my cup of tea in the slightest.
weird but cool back story
I guess what makes this album special is that it's an album? Because I fail to detect anything else.
At times it was cool. Then it wasn't.
This was something. I don't know what it was, but it wasn't very engaging for me. I'm having to skim it again this morning to remember what it sounded like yesterday. 2/5
Never heard of it, and can't see any reason for it to be on this list - even though it is pleasant
Dit is een beetje een flauwe hap... gauw doorslikken en naar de volgende snack.
Dit vond ik te onsamenhangend
This is fine. No strong feelings one way or the other.
ok, but forgetable
Lost in a sea while trying to be The Beach Boys. This didn't scratch any itch I had.
Flowed over me without touching at all. I wouldn't recognise a single bar if I heard it again tomorrow. No idea of even what genre it might be. Totally forgettable (and I already have).
this was not a bad album, and i was not bored by it. at times, i struggle to pinpoint other genres' influences on an album, but with the bees' sunshine hit me, the reggae came through well. there were even some classical notes. on the whole, this album was forgettable. i was at times reminded of an unrefined beach boys. the vocals were very eh and could be drone-y at times. i'm not a huge fan of the early 2000s indie for the fact that not all indie needs to be published. indie music should not be a synonym for "not very good", and i don't know why this album is here. the bees were not the only to use reggae with indie music.
This felt very lazy and sunshine-y. Everything about it suggests a warm, relaxing day. It was short and sweet and to the point. Overall, very listenable and chill -- not bad at all! But at the same time, I wasn't wowed by it, either. You don't hear Jamaican/reggae-inspired indie everyday, so it was unique, but not sure it needed to be on this project. And when it comes to things on this project, I expect to be wowed.
Poopoo
Not sure about this one, but I think I need to stick with my first reaction and describe it as aimless and meandering. I question how it made the list and have no desire to listen to it again.
Cute I guess? A couple of tracks I really disliked and some of the more pared back ones that were smooth and I got into. Can see some inventiveness here but never felt essential. Two and a half. Fave track: Sweet Like a Champion
Failed to do much to win me over - didn't feel all that compelling and sometimes a bit too sweet for my tastes. There can be times where white guys infusing reggae or ska into their rock band can produce an interesting or good sound, but this just seemed cringey to me. Fave track: Zia
Es un 2.5. Los temas que más me gustaron son los menos experimentales. Me guardé This Town.
This 39 minute album felt like it was 90 minutes long. It was so boring and just devoid of anything I need to hear ever again
Just found it all quite dull.
I very much like the music….the pace…..instrumentation…..rhythm… ..beat. I very much dislike everything about the vocals. They ruin the songs. I’m sure these guys thought they were very cool in 2002. They weren’t. And still aren’t.
Another block of time I'll never get back. I've gotta go with those reviews that gave it a thumbs down. Isle of Wright previous music events didn't rub off on this group.
Shit.
Sunshine Gir Me welcome to the it's okay but I certainly didn't need to hear this before I die clube
Listened during a really lousy Friday at work. Then during a kind of stressful Sunday morning. Found it annoying. Learned that these songs were used in car commercials shortly after the album came out. Traces of tropicália and reggae muddled into some indie pop or whatever. Not catchy. Sounds like AI-generated music, so I guess it was really quite ahead of its time. The only song on here with any substance or structure was an Os Mutantes cover.
Who picks this shit?!!
OMG NO STOP THIS MUSIC TO COMMIT SUICIDE TO
Holy shit, how does this take up a slot on this list? This was bad, and some of those first few tracks is just straight up appropriation, and done poorly. Ended my listen at around track 5 or 6. Eesh
really enjoyed and excited by the first song, but a bit downhill from there
Couldn’t find a hook
I have no idea what genre they're trying to be but they're failing at all of them.
I have not heard this before. I recognize a few songs from around when it was released, though if you played them for me again right now I wouldn’t know who it was by. There’s some stylistic variety in a few songs here but most stick to the same electro pop template that isn’t very interesting. The Os Mutantes cover is good, but it’s basically a note-for-note remake and is completely out of place with the rest of the tracks. It’s a little sad when the only song with any depth on an album is a xerox copy of the original, and only makes the rest of the record seem more dull in comparison.
musica loffi de un café porteño, una pija
Норм інді з дещицею даунтемпо. Яких-небудь причин бути в цьому списку не було знайдено. Головний хіт аля дженерік пісня під вінтажни
Boooooo
definitely an album.
Meh
The only song I even remotely enjoyed was Minha Menina. The rest was just pointless.
You’re the plus one at her cousin’s wedding, in one of those woodsy New England towns that only Noah Kahan knows about. At the reception, the band was instructed to play only originals because the couple want to ‘support local artists’. While the idea was thoughtful, you’re now suffering through the third hour of ‘creative’ offerings from “The Bees”, who have been very faithful to the happy couples’ request for authenticity (although I’m pretty sure a stripped down version of 311’s Come Original was thrown in there at some point). It sounds like there’s not much left in them, but the Shelburne Lounge and Ballroom at the Ramada Inn North only rents in 4 hour blocks, so this party’s gonna keep rolling. Now, if you put your iPhone on the table, cue up a voice recording and let it run, the result would be this album.
A new level of dull.
Utterly forgettable.
Lo fi shite.
Writing process for every song: start with lo-fi beats, add Hammond organ, send it. This album fucking blows.
See honestly I just find this so dull. Good elevator music I guess. Fuck knows why it's an album I should listen to before I die. Dont necessarily dislike it as much as some other albums but I truly find it just...meh
Chill Cover Interesting Pleasant Vibe Fun Background Vibes Cool Reggae Eclectic Boring Fine British Mutantes Decent Influences Mellow Genres Guys Summer Styles Forgettable Instrumental Production these are the tags for the album. I'll take: - Forgettable - Boring
sloppy
Don’t like it
Cringe: The Album. It's tasteless early-2000s commercialised indie boy stuff. "You smell like a punching bag" is one of the highlights of the humourless songwriting. They do a bizarre pastiche of rub-a-dub reggae that honestly makes me want to cry. They have a go at downtempo. They've absorbed some 1960s psych-rock whimsy. Their mummies told them they could be everything all at once. I'm sure there's lots of talent here, but I don't care - this is irredeemable, unabashed mediocrity. 1*
Not a fan
Yeah - this was trash. First track I'm like...its really irritating that its called Punchbag and not Punching bag...but maybe thats a British thing so I'll forgive it...second track sounded like what happens when white people play funk...its fine but theres something missing haha if that had been the whole album Id probably give this a 3...but the vast majority of the album is some weird amalgamation of funk, folk, and uh piano bar...no one asked for that.
Awful.
"Get your hockey bag out of my face, Sebastian".
Utter failure. Cover looks no better than a 10 year painting. I mean, who picks this shit.
This made no impact on me at all, apart from the Os Mutantes cover. I'd rather just listen to the original. No need for this in the book
Pleasant enough and I guess an example of something but not something I needed to hear before I die. This one took me over a week to get through and made me pause my feed. Two stars as it's ok but docking one star for length. Shut up. You don't need an hour. FFS!
Wie kommt so ein einfallsloses Supermarktgedudel in so eine Liste?
Not a fan
Drivel
Really should be in this list.
Not for me. 1/5
not my cup of tea
They letting anyone on this shit but ornette coleman man wtf. Random 2000s indie flops and a whole cover album of his work but they somehow couldn't fit the shape of jazz to come. You got 1001 albums but woops! We can't fit one of the most influential jazz albums ever! That would cut into the indie no names budget! Somehow we fit JOHN ZORN though! I'm talking about this instead of the album because this is so nothing it hurts. PUT ORNETTE COLEMAN ON THIS LIST FOR REAL YOU COWARDS 20/100
2/10 Well this is a dull little meander through the musical interests of The Bees. It very much feels like a band who have worked out a whole load of different ways to say what they want to say, but haven’t actually worked out what they’re trying to tell us yet. While the musicianship is nice and tight, the production is, on the whole, excellent, they seem completely incapable of writing any good hooks, choruses or melodies. It’s banality incarnate. Nice but uninteresting. And there’s no grit or edge to it at all. Instead of a smoky jazz bar with nice wine, we get a room full of people vaping and drinking alcohol-free rose. Instead of the weed-soaked swagger of a reggae festival, we get a white-boy dreadlock filled drumming circle in the park. Instead of prog-rock psychedelia on mushrooms, we get nitrous oxide balloons in the back of a limo. It’s all a pale imitation of what inspired it, made worse by the fact that most of the tracks just give us one fairly uninspired idea and just roll with it for three minutes. I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing did. In fact, the second time around it just went from being almost intensely Mundine to downright irritating. It gets an extra point for the production and musical abilities on display, but this is really fighting out out with some of the clunkers on this list. Punchbag - This is a nice, breezy summers day intro. But then it just… carries on. There’s no hook. The vocals are a bit of a dirge and it’s just not that interesting. It’s well produced, but would it hurt to throw in something catchy? Angryman - This is a more promising start. The vocals are a bit annoying, but if it kicks into something, it’ll be forgivable. But no, all evidence so far suggests that these guys don’t know how to write a chorus. The solo section at 3 minutes is cool, but it’s fleeting. It’s just another song idea that’s underdeveloped and doesn’t really lead anywhere. No Trophy - Another one that feels like a great vibe, but doesn’t go anywhere. It’s like they’ve understood the technicality of a lot of the genres they’re trying to ape, but just don’t understand the soul of it. This is the best song so far, but there’s just no character to it. Binnel Boy - They’ve found their toy box. Again, this one starts out nicely enough. But it goes nowhere at all. No hook, no chorus, just vibe. And vibe alone does not make a satisfying track. Sunshine - Another “oh, this is nice” moment until I realise the track is halfway done before anything has happened. And what happens is just a slight development of the initial idea, nothing fresh. Meh. A Minha Menina - Newsflash, I think they’ve tried to write a chorus. It’s not a very memorable one, but it’s something. Sonically, this is probably one of the least interesting on the album so far, but it’s an actual song. Seems to be one or the other with these boys. Feels like an unfinished demo outline of a song and the production is at its weakest so far here. This Town - Another meandering slice of niceness that never goes anywhere. It’s just the same idea for 3 minutes. There is a very slight variation between sections, but there’s no dynamic change or any significant structural change, it’s just bumbling along being nice until they fade out when even they’ve got bored. Sweet Like a Champion - This doesn’t even have any of the pep of previous tracks. It might work quite well as a tonal shift if the rest of the album had more hooks or connected better, but amongst this album, it just feels like a bit of a dirge. But it is more of a structurally sound song than the rest of the album, which is something. Lying in the Snow - So they’re doing a Pink Floyd now. But they haven’t earned it. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the album, at all. But it does at least have some motion to it, some variation and dynamic change. This is probably the most competent song of the album, but it’s still a bit boring and doesn’t build up to the grandiosity that it hints at. Zia - This seems like a nice little interlude. But what’s that? It’s the second longest track on the album? Nice, but meandering and, amidst the banality of the rest of the album, it’s just another nice slice of nothingness. Sky Holds the Sun - Give me a bloody melody already, Jesus. This whole track is a three and a half minute intro to nothing. The vocals just feel like scratch vocals that they meant to replace but never got round to it. The music is nice, but it’s just boring and goes nowhere.
So dull - couldn't last past Binnel Bay.
Hodgepodge of genres with no through line.
Eh?
Pluss: Under 40 minutter. Minus: WTAF???? Et gjennomført elendig album på alle måter!
Snooze fest...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Absolutely terrible, sounds like primary school music lesson.
Sh*t
sunshine did not hit me. I am imagining a bunch of pasty Brits making the music of Angryman, and it makes me angry, man. so they have some limited success? Then they cover Os Mutantes so the song could be used in a car commercial! "well come on what ISN'T cultural appropriation??" - The Bees, after playing the reggae song their latest ayahuasca experience inspired music: hated. (⌐■_■)
I try not to let my Hater Friend influence me too much but he got me on this one. Call it a rounded down 1.5. The Bees?? More like the Dee Plusses!
Seems unfinished. This is the sort if album id expect from a kid with a 4 track in his bedroom.
What a load of disjointed crap. Sometimes one part of the "groove" sounds good, but it is badly mixed, the vocals are consistently shithouse, while they emphasise percussion performed by the trainees. Avoid.
Filler. Sounds like it’s written for retail shopping background. No thanks.
Two dudes wrote and recorded this but there are six dudes in this band? What the fuck is this? Hipster Slipknot? Additionally, this album is some weird soft indie shit. Like, you have to actually write songs to be good. Did they know that?
boring
Not my type of music. Quite "jammy".
No.
New album for me. The album felt like another hyped-up UK album just like the previous 1001 albums from Ash, Django Django, the Thrills, Doves, the Coral, Coldplay, the Icarus Line, Hookworms, Travis and the list goes on and on (and on).
Super slight, super inessential, not very cohesive. The fact that the big single is a toothless cover of a Brazilian song is points against the album.
1. punch - 1 2. angry - 1 3. trophy - 1.5 4. bay - 1 5. zun - 1.5 6. menina - 1 7. touun - 1 8. champion - 1 9. znouu - 0 10. zia - 1.5 11. zky - 1
Not good. This is a bit like if Ween recorded in someone's garage and had no money. How on earth did this make it onto the list? Feels like one of those that was released shortly before the book came out. Might have seemed cool at the time, but it stinks now.
It was good. Very talented. But still a 1. Not a bad 1. Not a strong 1. Just a 1.
Not in my edition of the book! 2002. 1 star. Redundant bland pop songs from a bland pop group, with one song used for a car advert. Utterly forgettable. WTF is this doing on the list?
Where does 60 homage end and outsider art begin?
The opening track is kinda promising and then the second track hits you with that horrible blindingly white kid indie falsetto in a shit attempt to grab some sort of "I listened to my parents cocaine music and now I'm cool" cred. It's the audio manifestation of the mustache on 40 year old guy riding a fixie and wearing a flat cap. It goes extremely predictably on from there. Given this came out in 2002, this is music for ipod commercials. Maybe that's why it's on the list given the amount of stuff that sounded like this that came out in the following decade. “A minha menina” is not a butchering of the original mostly because they abandon most of the Portuguese in favor of new English lyrics. After that everything is fairly boring, though I wouldn’t be terribly irritated if I heard the beginning of “lying in the snow” if I was five beers in on a sunny Friday. I’m mad about how bad this is.
Didn’t really enjoy it. This went nowhere fast
Nice of the album cover to give away exactly what to expect from this album. Which, hey, points for lowering expectations I guess. That's something.
Seichter, sphärischer Indie Rock.
Jesus, what a drag
Not for me
Boring and painful portuguese pronunciation.