My band November Bees‘ first record, “In a Dissonant Light”, is full of metaphors. How should I best describe the sound of the album? Industrial Folk Music? Are three words enough?
Listen to the album while reading the text.
Metaphors
I believe that people are free to interpret our songs as they wish. Music does have a story, what makes a story great is how it is read.
Most of these songs have come from a dark place. I find dark spots get best resolved in art or music. It’s the same with any emotion that needs to be defined or finalized.
I finished my first song in 1999. It took me about three years of messing around on my guitar and writing short stories and little hooks as a teenager. I felt at the time I had a lot to say but I never wanted to verbalize it as it really was.
And that’s when I started using metaphors. I then realized that meant I could write about anything I wanted to without ever directly mentioning what I was singing about.
In a Dissonant Light
November Bees first record, “In a Dissonant Light” is full of metaphors. I started writing this album in 2015/6 when I came out of hospital after getting jaundice from trying to drink away my depression. I’ve not had a drink since I started this collection of songs.
What I was doing with these songs was trying to give the bottle a human charistic, a one in which I could love, but also had realized that it was over. With lyrics such as
I see you’ve cut your hair,
and you’ve got a cutting stare
like you really don’t care,
your personality reminds me of the sea,
destroying the shoreline with ease,
and all the ships you’ve lost a loss
at what cost?
– The sinking of the HMS dignity
One of the ways I used to avoid going to the corner shop for a drink was to play my piano with deep concentration. And I guess desperation that I would find more in the notes than I ever did at the bottom of a bottle.
I personally am glad this album is finally finished. It has given me so much more than I knew it could. I’m pleased that people are warming to it. Especially since I never originally planned to release it.
And now, with the band as a solid three-piece, we have already started on our second release.
November Bees are…
Mark Van Vasey
Rob Conn (Bass)
Steve Dew (Drums)