The Spirit Of The Beehive - “I Smell Bud” (Official Video)

The Spirit Of The Beehive’s self-titled debut is the kind of murky, densely layered record that is richly rewarding on repeat listens, and one that deserves a much wider audience than it has right now. The Philadelphia band has crafted an album that chooses to stay in the shadows, a storm cloud overhead and with no light in view. It oscillates between moments of beautiful, unbearable vulnerability and a tarnished ambience that slides towards tightly-packed noise, and it’s at its best when both of those things happen simultaneously. On “I Smell Bud,” an album highlight, they achieve a balance between these two that’s absolutely divine and deeply sad: “I can’t be myself when you are away/ It’s okay, we’ll do it your way.” And later, spoken in deadpan: “I wish that I was skinny, then I wouldn’t need to be cool and maybe you would need me more than I need you.” The whole song has a queasy roll to it, which is matched in their new video, shot at a house party with an unsteady hand, mimicking the dizzying nature of the track.