Artist: Little Tybee
Album: Humorous to Bees
Genre: Indie, folk, pop
Recommended tracks: “Strong Ears”, “In Range”

The theater is dark and swelled with anticipation. The movie opens, fades from black. Dainty, rhythmic shakers are heard–first softly, then loudly. Images fill the screen: a picturesque French setting, somewhere in Paris, of course. It is springtime, pigeons dot the rickety brick streets. A skipping acoustic guitar creeps in, a voice soon croons. B-roll footage of Paris–life, scenery, people, cityscape, bird’s eye views–plays beneath typeface alive with animation. Restless letters form the names of actors, producers, directors. Wavy strings like beach breezes lull and boom and give you goosebumps. A woman, the lead actress, comes into view behind a veil of cigarette smoke. She is short-haired, sipping coffee, reading Nietzsche. She is quintessentially French. The music, with it’s last flirtatious wink of eclectic sounds, unexpected harmonies, and eerie falsettos, fades to nothing. The scene begins.

What you just read, dear readers, are the inner wanderings of my mind in response to hearing the song “Strong Ears” off of Little Tybee’s new album, Humorous to Bees. This vivid and powerful song in particular caught my ear, thanks to its mixture of sounds ranging from a coy, come hither French tune, to a roller coaster of synthetic (but still relatively organic sounding) pitches, to a smorgashboard of classical and non-classical instruments, to a folk-indie lyrical and singing style.

Little Tybee, an 8-piece band from Atlanta, Georgia, is, in fact, the very definition of eclectic. There are a wide range of influences in their sound, including hints of Latin, classical, folk, and rock. Basically, I could listen to this music with my Mom (favorite artist: Aretha Franklin), my Dad (favorite artist: Frank Sinatra), my boyfriend (favorite artist: Nine Inch Nails), and my brother (favorite artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers), and everyone would enjoy it immensely. The band is truly genre-defying:

“Little Tybee is a group that is really hard to put your finger on stylistically, and that’s the way we like it.” - FILTER (via papergardenrecords.com)

The album as a whole is peaceful, intricate, and delightful. It is light and upbeat, but rich with layering sounds and complexity. This is a perfect album for one of those rare and beautiful quiet, sunny days.

Little Tybee’s instrumentality reminds me a lot of Noughts and Exes, whom I just featured in a BNBTV Spotlight, and a more soft-pop shoot-off of White Denim. Definitely recommended if you like Grizzly Bear, Dr. Dog, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens and Morning Benders. The band just finished up their most recent tour on Sunday, which included rocking SXSW. Where they’ll be next, nobody knows! Be sure to check their Facebook page for updates.

Take a listen to “Passion Seekers” from Humorous to Bees, and download it for free!

Little Tybee – Passion Seekers by Paper Garden Records