Eight Houses (10th Anniversary Edition)

This album is a slow grower and even after 10 years, this dark work by the New York duo still sounds fresh, is touching and overall astonishing. Originally released in 2014 through the BB*ISLAND label the long out-of-print vinyl will be reissued as a special limited edition. Pressed on "Sparkling Starlight" vinyl and housed in a deluxe cardboard jacket, it comes with a folded poster including the lyrics and a postcard with a download code. The download includes the album tracks and an exclusive 1-hour interview podcast with She Keeps Bees.

Considering how controlled the chaos is on Eight Houses, a record that's ruptured by riffs and rattled by rhythms without leaping straight off the rails, it's tough to imagine a time when Jessica Larrabee and Andy LaPlant didn't finish each other's sentences, creatively and personally. But that's how She Keeps Bees began: with LaPlant bashing a borrowed kit (including a garbage-picked floor tom) atop a step-ladder and Larrabee directing the dark solo recordings she began soon after moving from Philadelphia to Brooklyn.

"We grew together slowly," adds Larrabee, "like a tree. It felt powerful with him behind me. Nothing really clicked until I met Andy."  That dynamic became more pronounced with each passing record, peaking with the self-produced songs of Nests and Dig On, the latter of which expanded the pair's minimal sound with bass parts and synths. Now joined by an outside producer (Rare Book Room's Nicolas Vernhes) and guest musicians including Sharon Van Etten and Adam Schatz, She Keeps Bees revels in the raw power of subtlety, silence and space, coloring Larrabee's compositions with lean piano lines, hazy horns and warm organ rolls.

Released: December 2024
Cat: BBI0161
Label: B B * ISLAND

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Tracklist

1. Feather Lighter 
2. Breezy 
3. Owl 
4. Both Sides 
5. Burning Bowl 
6. Radiance 
7. Wasichu 
8. Greasy Grass 
9. Raven 
10. Is What It Is