Bellafea Family Tree

[Pidgeon English; 2005]

Rating: 1/5

Styles: indie rock, grunge
Others: Jale, early PJ Harvey, Helium


After opening with a great little a cappella (shy of some stomp and handclap percussion) blues number, this EP heads in a very different direction. Jangley guitars and forlorn melodies surge forth in a way that is perhaps familiar, but the well-tempered three-person vocal interplay manages to pull you in. But after a while, the one guitarist/one drummer set-up provides a texture that could be thin or just restrained.

Upon digesting the whole of the release, I have to settle on thin. There are some deft touches here and there (mostly with vocal work), but the simplicity of much of the instrumentation leaves much to be desired. There may be some interesting moments, such as the instrumental passage on "Thorn Bird." In this song, a tentative, bleak progression is flanked by distant traffic noise on the left side and a typewriter/slide projector on the right. But then again, Rachel's did this sort of intriguingly antiquated ambience more justice on their Selenography record.

The morose, familiar tone brought forth by tracks two through four along with the beginning section of "Thorn Bird" lack the emotional heft that the opener and the title track, "Family Tree" have in spades. The ending of "Family Tree" feels abrupt, but I have the feeling if it had given in to a climax, it would've sounded just as dully maudlin and indistinctive as the preceding four tracks. That Family Tree begins and ends strong makes the commonplace nature of the songs in between all the more irksome. Of these mundane grunge-by-the-numbers tracks, I'd say "Tara" fares the best. Its hairpin turn, tension and release structure does a lot to distract from its melodic mediocrity.

But I'm afraid this EP is hardly endearing, despite its strengths. It's assured mope rock in the grunge mold without much else going for it. But there's something about "Be Still & Know." This is a great little song. With my disc changer on repeat, the EP came on after my Heartless Bastards CD had finished, and I'd thought it a brilliant end to Stairs and Elevators.

1. Be Still & Know
2. Tara
3. While We Are Still Young
4. Seasons
5. Thorn Bird
6. Family Tree