Beekeeping (album)
Beekeeping is a 2008 album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara, their fifth and final full-length release. It was released on bandleader Ed Ackerson's Susstones Records label and produced by Ackerson at his recording studio, Flowers.
| Beekeeping | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 6, 2008 | |||
| Studio | Flowers Studio | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, indie rock | |||
| Label | Susstones Records | |||
| Producer | Ed Ackerson | |||
| Polara chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Trouser Press | (positive) [1] |
| City Pages | (positive)[2] |
| WeHeartMusic |   [3] |
| Star Tribune | (positive)[4] |
Released six years after the band's previous album Jetpack Blues and a few months after the more introspective solo album Ed Ackerson,[2] the lineup on Beekeeping included founding members Ackerson and guitarist Jennifer Jurgens, as well as drummer Peter Anderson.
During this period, the band's live group included Jayhawks guitarist Marc Perlman, Tim Oesau, and Ackerson's wife Ashley Ackerson, who also led the group The Mood Swings.[5]
Reception
Trouser Press writer Ira Robbins praised the album as "a straightforward guitar pop album with few digressions that drops Polara right back in action with all of its strengths not only intact but more smoothly integrated than ever."[1]
Chris Riemenschneider of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune said that after the mellower Ed Ackerson album, Beekeeping had brought Ackerson back "to the feistier, fuzzier sound of his old band", comparing the sound to a more "psychedelic" Stone Roses.[4]
A reviewer for the music blog WeHeartMusic said that "Polara possesses what I consider the classic Twin Cities rock sound" and that Beekeeping "filled me with a sort of heady euphoria that will have me buzzing around the neighborhood for hours."[3] Andrea Myers of City Pages said that Polara "masterfully balance the accessibility of hooky Britpop with the oddity of adding layers of fuzz and feedback to an otherwise clean sound."[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ed Ackerson.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Longest Day" | 3:46 |
| 2. | "Game Over" | 3:14 |
| 3. | "Another Phase" | 3:29 |
| 4. | "Talk Me Down" | 3:44 |
| 5. | "E Flat" | 3:38 |
| 6. | "Beekeeping" | 3:24 |
| 7. | "Both Ends Burning" | 3:00 |
| 8. | "So Long" | 2:57 |
| 9. | "Out Of Your Hands" | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Happy Ending" | 3:49 |
| 11. | "Live And Learn" | 3:47 |
References
- Robbins, Ira. "27 Various, Polara, Sideways, Ed Ackerson". Trouser Press. Trouser Press LLC. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
- Myers, Andrea (May 2008). "Return of the Weirdos: On Polara's new record, Ed Ackerson wrangles a swarm of bees into submission". City Pages. Minneapolis. p. 65.
- "Polara - Beekeeping". WeHeartMusic. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
- Riemenschneider, Chris (May 9, 2008). "Putting the 'e' in R&B". Star Tribune. Minneapolis.
- "Polara: Beekeeping". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.