Philadelphia’s restlessly creative Spirit of the Beehive write intricate, sometimes contradictory songs that unpredictably dart between several different styles, with lyrics that often express frustration, numbness, and self-doubt. Debuting with a shoegaze-influenced self-titled album in 2014, the band have constantly shifted both their lineup and their sound, with releases like 2018’s Hypnic Jerks veering between dreamy psych-pop and catchy indie rock, and 2021’s Entertainment, Death exploring glitchy electronics and grainy, vaporwave-influenced textures. The band’s 2023 EP I’m So Lucky was a brief set of noisy, torn-apart post-punk, and the slightly stripped-down full-length You’ll Have to Lose Something appeared in 2024.
Named after a 1973 Spanish drama film, Spirit of the Beehive was founded in 2014, with members including dual lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Zach Schwartz (formerly of Glocca Morra) and Rivka Ravede, as well as Justin Fox, Timothy Jordan, and Pat Conaboy. Their self-titled debut was co-released by Ice Age Records and Ranch in 2014, and the EP You Are Arrived (But You’ve Been Cheated) followed in 2015. Drifting from the more overtly shoegaze-influenced sound of their debut, the group’s trippy, collage-like Pleasure Suck was released by indie rock/emo label Tiny Engines in 2017, with Hypnic Jerks appearing in 2018. The band’s lineup frequently shifted, and following the release of Schwartz’s 2020 solo debut as Draag Me, Spirit of the Beehive were down to a trio lineup, with Schwartz and Ravede joined by Corey Wichlin. Signing to Saddle Creek, the group returned in 2021 with Entertainment, Death, their much acclaimed fourth full-length. The post-punk-influenced four-song EP I’m So Lucky, inspired by the breakup between Schwartz and Ravede, followed in 2023. The group continued reflecting on the end of relationships with 2024’s You’ll Have to Lose Something. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi
