BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREETREE have always moved like a slow‑forming storm front — patient, enveloping, and quietly overwhelming. But on their fourth album, In Between Strides, they step beyond the psychedelic‑doom monolith they’ve spent a decade refining and wander into something far more melodic, spontaneous, and exploratory.
This is the sound of a band letting instinct lead, embracing uncertainty, and discovering new terrain in real time.
A Record Built on Motion, Instinct, and Environment
Created across unconventional recording spaces — rooms with character, corners with strange acoustics, places where the air itself becomes part of the performance — In Between Strides feels less like a studio album and more like a travelogue of sound. You hear movement. You hear space. You hear the band reacting to each other without overthinking.
Their psychedelic‑doom roots remain, but they’re now a launchpad, not a cage. The album drifts through:
- Hazy shoegaze — blurred edges, soft-focus guitars, dreamlike drift
- Atmospheric drone — meditative weight, long-form immersion
- Acoustic textures — fragile warmth, organic contrast
- Towering heaviness — tectonic crescendos, massive low-end
It’s expansive without losing intimacy — a rare balance.
Departure
The album opens like a slow inhale. “Departure” feels less like a song beginning and more like a threshold being crossed. Clean guitars shimmer in soft light, Rhodes piano flickers like distant lanterns, and the rhythm section moves with deliberate restraint. It’s the sound of stepping away from the familiar — a gentle lift‑off into uncertainty. Simon and Marc’s dual Rhodes textures create a drifting, weightless mood, setting the tone for the album’s fluid, exploratory nature.
Respite
“Respite” is the album’s first moment of stillness — a shoegaze‑leaning haze where the edges blur and the band leans into softness. The guitar work feels like fog rolling over hills, while the bass hums like a pulse beneath the mist. It’s a pause, but not a stop. A breath taken mid‑journey. A reminder that heaviness doesn’t always require volume; sometimes it’s carried in atmosphere.
Clutching at Straws
The emotional center of the record. “Clutching at Straws” blends drone, doom, and melody into something both desperate and transcendent. The band’s psychedelic‑doom roots surface here, but they’re softened by the album’s newfound spontaneity — riffs emerge like thoughts forming, dissolve, then return with tectonic weight. The drumming is especially expressive, shifting from meditative repetition to surging momentum. This is the track where the album’s themes of uncertainty and searching feel most pronounced.
Elisa
A moment of vulnerability and human warmth. Guest pianist Luis Deffner (JAMHED) adds a delicate, emotional clarity that expands the band’s palette. “Elisa” feels like a quiet confession — Rhodes and piano intertwine like two voices sharing a secret. The heaviness here is emotional, not sonic. It’s the album’s softest track, and arguably its most affecting: a fragile, glowing center inside a larger cosmic structure.
Return, Precipice
The closing piece is the album’s most dramatic and towering moment. “Return, Precipice” begins with a sense of reflection — the calm before a storm — before rising into massive, slow‑motion heaviness. This is BEES at full scale: guitars blooming into monolithic waves, bass rumbling like shifting earth, drums landing with ritualistic gravity. Yet even at its heaviest, the track feels open, not oppressive. It’s a return, but not a retreat — the precipice is a place of perspective, not danger. A perfect ending to an album defined by movement, curiosity, and organic growth.
Line-up
- Simon Weinrich — guitar, vocals, Rhodes piano
- Marc Dreher — drums, vocals, Rhodes piano
- Lucas Dreher — guitar
- Christopher Popowitsch — bass
Guest musician
- Luis Deffner (JAMHED) — piano on Elisa
The Verdict
In Between Strides is BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE’s most expansive, fluid, and exploratory work to date — a record shaped by motion, intuition, and the willingness to let go of the map. It builds on the immersive power of previous releases while opening an entirely new chapter, one defined by curiosity, vulnerability, and organic growth.
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