Bumblebeez 81 - Printz

Not since Donnie and Marie has there been so much hype over a brother/sister act. Ok, so perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration, but the point is that the Aussie siblings of Bumblebeez 81 are getting a lot of buzz, so to speak, these days. And why, you may ask? Hmm…why indeed. Former art student Chris Colonna reluctantly joined forces with his sister Pia on this experimental mish-mash, and like Chris’s visual art, the music on Printz is primarily collage. Utilizing everything from pots, pans, cars, animals to more conventional sampling, the Beez music can be somewhat chaotic but still manages to be a little funky and mostly coherent. Pia’s vocal contributions consist of husky raps and the occasional blood-curdling scream, but her presence adds a lot to the sound of the record, giving it more depth than would be there if it were just Chris and his computer. Unfortunately, even though some of the tracks on Printz (“Pony Ride,” “Microphone Diseases,” “I’ve Come With Water”) are interesting and have some redeeming qualities, that’s about all I can say about them. There isn’t one song on the album that I can see getting stuck in my head or inspiring the “Oh man, I’ve got to hear that song again” feeling. It’s very artsy and self-indulgent, which I guess is an occupational hazard when you sit alone in your room all day putting stuff together on your laptop. So while the rest of the critical world heaps praise and accolades on the Beez, I’m afraid I just don’t get it. Maybe I really am missing something, or maybe, like all art, Bumblebeez 81’s style and music is subjective – to each their own. [www.thebumblebeez.com]