High Society

The Silver Seas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cheap Lullaby
• ASIN: B000VBIE24
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,441 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This Nashville band, led by the multi-talented Daniel Tashian, made the catchiest album of the year. --Performing Songwriter

With their effortlessly breezy harmonies and indelible hooks, the members of Nashville's The Bees (U.S.) dispense an abundance of delicately crafted, beautifully rootsy pop. Often referred to as "Nashville's best poorly kept secret," the as-yet-unsigned band is poised for a national breakthrough. The Bees (U.S.) began with the meeting of producer Jason Lehning and singer/songwriter Daniel Tashian, who shared a love for pop and likewise a distaste for bland and predictable modern rock. After a dispute with a British band with the same name, "(U.S.)" was added to The Bees' name in order to differentiate between the two. The group's 2004 debut album, "Starry Gazey Pie," drew rave reviews, leading Guster to ask The Bees (U.S.) to open for its nationwide tour. The Bees (U.S.)'s newest album, the independently released High Society, finds the group building on its appealing sound. High Society's subtle channeling of The Beach Boys and Jackson Browne is sure to win the band even more fans, especially with the beautiful opener "The Country Life." --NPR - World Cafe

It took me a while to "check back". A couple of weeks ago I listened to the songs on The Bees (U.S.) MySpace page and liked the songs so much I decided to buy the High Society album off of iTunes, and haven't stopped listening to it since; the collection of songs is so good, that I had a hard time picking out 4 for this blog, so I ended up blending the last two tracks on the album ("Dream of Love" and "The Broadway Lights") into one. All of the tracks are short, impeccable pop pieces played at a medium pace with an emphasis on melodies and harmonies, performed mostly with standard acoustic instruments and enveloped in a very natural-sounding production. It's not all that often that I'm exposed to a record that is so easy and pleasant to listen to. Let's hope this isn't just a side-project of Daniel's and that The Bees' discography becomes a swarm! --Music Is My Radar

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And I do like Sondre Lerche and Nick Drake and Badly Drawn Boy, February 5, 2008

By 

Nicholas William Dymond (Harrison Township, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High Society (Audio CD)

Good easy listening. I have to say this album is a favorite of mine. Good to write papers to. I have to agree with the other review that it is a taste issue. If your music interests are a bit more well seasoned/cultured, you'll enjoy this album more than someone whose looking for something with more bite and a highly digitized sound.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll Say It Now--This Group Could Make It Big!, February 14, 2009

By 

Reviewer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Society (Audio CD)

I remember hearing The Bees (now The Silver Seas) album High Society a couple years ago and was amazed at the catchiness of each song. This album could have been made in the 70s era of soft rock and probably done exceptionally well. However, this album is so different than the Top 20 music today that it would be hard for this group to get airtime. That's a shame, as we need more Silver Seas music and less of singers who are not much of singers nor musicians.

Good news for the group is that their song "Imaginary Girl" is now played on a popular washing machine advertisement. Maybe this will help the Silver Seas in their career and hopefully get them to make another record!

Also, I have high praise for the producing of the album. You can easily hear the harmonies in the singers, such as on the title track. The harmonies in songs like High Society and Hard Luck Tom really make the album work well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pet Sounds for the 21st Century, February 1, 2009

By 

Still Rockin' After All These Years (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Society (Audio CD)

This recording is a masterpiece from start to finish. Although the influences are many, there is a lot of Brian Wilson and the muse which gave birth to Pet Sounds back in the 60s. It has simplicity and complexity and something special in every song. Great harmonies, heartfelt lyrics (and some tunes with no lyrics) and songs that stick in your head and won't go away - and that's a good thing. It just makes me smile with tunes like "Hard Luck Tom" with lyrics about this poor guy whose life is falling apart put to a melody that captures the most perfect warm day in spring - put them together and it just works.

Go find a copy at the band's web site if there is not one avaiable here at a good price. Highly recommended!