A Band of Bees surprisingly good

You never can tell where good music will come from.

A Band of Bees is the current name for what originated as a Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher duo. Originating from the Isle of Wight off the coast of Britain, the band recently released its first album, a twelve-number collection titled Sunshine Hit Me that ventures across the musical spectrum, echoing everything from contemporary video games to surf music to Paul Simon as the vocal pairing experiments with different musical backdrops for their lyrical talents.

The CD opens with the mystical-sounding rift of "Punchbag," which sounds like it came straight out of Legends of Zelda. A slow trumpet soon joins in on the melody, accompanied by a quietly rolling rhythm section and further enhanced by the haunting lyrics of Butler and Fletcher. The pair's voices are lilting and often seem mired in a minor key, but the blend of vocals and electric piano meld together to create a haunting tune that hooks the listener's attention from the first note and transitions smoothly into the rest of the album.

"No Trophy" is a more laidback reggae number that almost seems reminiscent of Southern California's surf rock. With a myriad of percussion instruments from drum machine to triangle to the occasional woodblock laying down a smooth foundation, the vocal duo has the freedom to experiment with melodies and harmonies. They move freely from major to minor key within the framework of the song in a style almost similar to that of the traditional Beach Boys tunes.

The next piece in the collection, "Binnel Bay," opens with African rhythms created by marimba and shaker as the focus returns once again to the band's vocal talents. It's followed by a few more instrumental numbers which vary between new age and bluegrass and the lyrical "This Town," a quieter number that seems almost to echo the distinctive style of Paul Simon. With a more traditional piano and drum set setting the stage, this particular piece returns the focus more to the lyrics themselves than the sensation that the voices create. The album ends with "Sky Holds the Sun," a slower piece that features a mellow harmony created by electric piano and coasts to the eventual melodious conclusion, and "You Got To Leave," a last one-shot bonus track that seems like it was lifted straight out of a 1980s heavy rock concert.

Often haunting, always curious, the lyrics written by Butler and Fletcher are the highlight of the album, carrying through a peculiar consistency throughout the shifting musical styles. Though the collection occasionally seems the equivalent of a consonant identity crisis, the pieces are tied together by the duo's daring vocal style and constant experimentation with different percussion instruments. The one downside to the album is the seemingly constant drum machine that often distracts from the music itself.

In spite of this, Sunshine Hit Me is an exciting collection that ventures across a number of different genres before returning back to classical slow rock to finally ease out the way it came in.