Bitter Honey

Eef Barzelay

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: February 21, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Spin Art
• ASIN: B000E6EJJS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #170,103 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

What's the difference between an Eef solo album and a Clem Snide set? If Bitter Honey is any evidence, then the difference is simply the extra characters. Peripatetic across his many narrative characters, Barzelay shifts shapes continuously. He starts as a "press my breasts together and arch my back" groupie hanging out with Ludacris and Nelly. And he moves through a lo-fi voiced, a.m. radio singer meditating on love and beauty. He's a minimalist here, finger-picking solemnly, and a declarative, empathizing outcast when the object of his affection is outdrinking him ("You see I wasn't really drunk, I was just pretending / Because I wanted so much to feel the way you do," Barzelay intones on "I Wasn't Really Drunk"). You'd buy this album for the same reason you buy Robyn Hitchcock, for the observations, sardonic-ism, and sarcasm--not to mention Eef's singular, strained voice. -Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

Bitter Honey by Eef Barzelay is a solo acoustic record by the singer/songwriter of Clem Snide. The record is made up of two chapters.

Chapter One opens with "The Ballad of Bitter Honey", a song that initially sounds like an ironic take on the life of a hip-hop video vixen. But the only irony is that it’s bespectacled Barzelay singing it. As in many of Barzelay’s songs the sniggers are quickly undercut with tenderness and self examination. The next four songs lead us from cruelty to empathy and all the crippled places in-between.

Chapter Two, called "Let Us Be Naked", mines similar emotional territory yet also abandons itself to a rousing not-drunken sing-along, a one minute and eight second valentine, and possibly the most heartbreaking version of "Joy to the World ever done.

With just his voice, his words, and an acoustic guitar Barzelay further confirms the rumor that he is one of the most uniquely talented songwriters around.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lacerating ballads of a subway troubador, March 17, 2006

By	Joller (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews

Eef Barzelay, whoever he may be, sings raw, twisted, slyly witty songs of love and yearning.
Just his lacerating voice and his acoustic guitar, strummed with such intensity that you can feel the callouses and blisters.
The effect is like strolling past a busker in a subway, stopping in your tracks a few paces down, turning around, and just watching him, transfixed, because he sounds like no-one you've ever heard before, and yet he reminds you of all the hungry young troubadors who have ever dared to make themselves heard.
I got this album through sheer curiosity, more on the strength of that bizarre name than anything else, and then the album got me and hasn't let go.
Whether you love or hate this music will depend on your tolerance for music that doesn't care whether you love or hate it. It's that personal and uncompromising.
Go on: if you're reading this, there's a pretty good chance that there's a space in your head that is waitng for the ballads of Barzelay.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius, February 22, 2006

By	J. Walker "cash-munny" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Barzelay's band, Clem Snide, is by far the most under-rated bands out there today, and this album reveals their secret ingredient, brilliant songwriting. Part Bob Dylan, part Woody Guthrie, with a dash of David Byrne, Barzelay is a true talent that is sure to deliver for years to come.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hear of Clem Snide Delivers, March 31, 2006

By	C. Cooley "Let There Be Rock" (Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Eef Barzelay has set the bar for gut-wrenching eclectic rock, both plugged in and unplugged. This collection of acoustic songs delivers on every level...lyrically, musically and as a total package. Treat yourself and pick this up now.