Artist: She Keeps Bees
Album: Nests
File Under: Lo-Fi Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Heartless Bastards, Cat Power, Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Jack ‘n Meg
Featured Tracks:

“Gimme”

“My Last Nerve”

No frills, stripped down, raw, lo-fi, bluesy indie rock.  You like that kinda music? Me too. And this Brooklyn-based duo, comprised of Jessica Larrabee (vocals, guitar) and Andy LaPlant, gives it up in spades.  The first hit I got when I heard their album was a stripped down version of the Heartless Bastards. Like Erika Wennerstrom and Cat Power, Larrabee’s voice has a similar bluesy, soulful quality. And given their relationship status (boyfriend/girlfriend) and blues rock vibe, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to The White Stripes.

Oh, and then there’s the songwriting! Powerful and seductive, it’s hard not to get caught up in Larrabee’s conviction on “Gimme” as she pleads “Gimme, gimme, give it to me daddy/ Work me like my back ain’t got no bone.” And my personal favorite, “My Last Nerve”, where she growls “Lord, I am tired of this same old bullshit…” just gets me every time.

Nests, originally self-released by the duo in 2008, has been reissued this year under Names Records along with their Revival EP. Go get it.  You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks See What You Hear for turning me on to this one!