She Keeps Bees

Hailing from Brooklyn, the indie rock duo She Keeps Bees cultivates a retro, bluesy aesthetic through its music. Their first full-length effort, Minisink Hotel, surfaced in 2006 and evoked echoes of Cat Power, PJ Harvey, and the White Stripes, owing largely to the bare guitar-and-drums configuration. As the 2010s progressed, they honed this approach while preserving its raw edge, adopting a more austere stance on the evocative 2014 release Eight Houses before incorporating muted electronic textures on 2019's Kinship.

What began as singer/songwriter Jessica Larrabee's solo endeavor led her to enlist producer Andy LaPlant in 2006 for recording assistance, after which he joined permanently on drums. Minisink Hotel emerged that same year to favorable notices, with LaPlant's atmospheric touch complementing Larrabee's expressive vocals and commanding presence. The Shhhh EP appeared in 2007, followed by the album Nests in 2008. Expanding their reach, the pair aligned with British indie Names Records for the 2009 EP Revival and the U.K. edition of Nests, which they promoted via European dates. Maintaining their independent ethos stateside, they put out Dig On in 2011.

Turning attention toward folk origins, Larrabee and LaPlant enlisted producer Nicolas Vernhes (Spoon, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter) for Eight Houses, issued on the L.A. indie label Future Gods Records. After joining Ba Da Bing Records, they preserved the restrained power of their work while folding in electronics for Kinship.