2012.08.01 Collections Of Colonies Of Bees - Giving

Color: Black w/Hot Pink Swirl

Released: 2011, August 2

Label: Hometapes

This one’s hard. Let me start by saying that it was kinda of impossible for this one to succeed as much as I hoped it would. The first bit of evidence stacked against it: It was the follow up to their perfect 2008 release Birds, which landed at the top spot of my “best of” list for that year. The second detractor? It took too damn long to actually be released. Seems like the record was initially announced well over a year before it actually saw the light of day. When you add those two factors up there was an insurmountable expectation set. Could this album be worth the wait and could it rival their last release and all the feelings of excitement and beauty it conjured up. Initially, the answer was a head-scratching “No.” And it’s not because Giving isn’t GOOD. It’s quite good. But due to the prolonged anticipation and its ultimate failure to deliver the same kind of journey that Birds was - Giving felt like a bit of a let down. Even more curious, shortly after its release the band recorded and released 4 new songs via Daytrotter (with a slightly altered lineup) that topped those on Giving. Not an easy feat, as I mentioned - Giving is not a BAD record by any stretch of the imagination, especially its final track “Vorms.” The question is “was the record merely a victim tough circumstances?” or was it merely just not as strong as the material on either end of it? The packaging of Giving, however, totally surpasses that of Birds. Little details, like the hit of color on the inside of the sleeve or the pink swirl in the black vinyl make this a well thought out piece of design. I love the way the title of the record is set in large thin type on the back cover with the last G in “GIVING” mirroring the orientation of the first G (and the V and N doing similar visual play). Perhaps time and a some repeated listens will allow this record to grow beyond its initial circumstances and become great of its own accord.