LONG FORM ...
Read Tom Hallet's extensive review of Bees Will Bumble (Pulse of the Twin Cities July 28, 2004)
'Nowhere Man' by Keith Harris (City Pages, June 1999)
'Demo Universe profile' by Jim Santo (www.DemoUniverse.com)
SHORT FORM ...
One man band Terry Eason plays it all, record his own stuff, writes it all, and from how this disc, it sounds as though he has played in a million bands in a million different genres. His more mellow numbers are alright, but my advice for Terry Eason is to keep rockin out. You kicked my ass on track three "Certain Limitations". I need more of this post punk new wave fun.
Pixstx, Kissing the Cat
Ê I almost thought this was a new Kitchens of Distinction record on the opening track, but by track three I thought did They Might be Giants have David Byrne do a vocal on the chorus on one of their songs? Terry Eason is a bit all over the place, but by the end of the record you get a feel he could make a record in almost any style and it would be all gold. From shoegaze, to psych-pop, to new wave, twee pop, this guy can do it all.
The Bee's Knees
This is nothing like I expected. What I did expect was pretty much your standard guitar boogie; pleasant, professional but nothing out of the ordinary. What I did hear was the kind of album that is an unfolding delight. Eason, described by admirers as a Ôone man Elephant Six Collective of Minneapolis, has produced an album that is diverse, amusing, challenging and very likeable. Within each of the ten tracks - none of which is longer than EntangledÕs 4.56 - Eason packs the usual verse, chorus, middle eight etc., but adds curious sonic twists that pop up like little musical firecrackers. OK, so he can sound a little like Neil Young - and whatÕs wrong with that? he asks - but he has an inventiveness that the Old Man of Canada can only dream of. ÔBees Will BumbleÕ (a great title by the way, deserving of an award in itself) follows up EasonÕs previous effort, ÔElephant GardenÔ, which was released only this year. The more I hear this album - with its homage to Fripp, traces of XTC and pure wackiness - the more I like it. Eason has produced a little gem that will grace anyoneÕs collection. Anyone who likes off-the-wall music that brings a smile to their face should do themselves a favour and check this out. I'm gonna rush out and buy Elephant Garden. So heÕs got some money coming in, then. I hope.
John Stacey
November 2004
Comes with a smile UK
Als vager Leitfaden fŸr die Musik von Terry Eason darf man Neil Young oder Wilco nehmen. Wobei Eason, der aus Minneapolis stammt, nicht ganz so weit wie zum Beispiel das letzte Wilco-Werk ÇA ghost is bornÈ geht. ÇBees will bumbleÈ hat aber einige experimentelle Momente, die beweisen, dass Eason genau so gut weiss, wie man spannenden Indie-Rock produziert. Die Eršffnugsnummer ÇAgony of the thrillÈ driftet nach einem geheimnisvollen Intro in Richtung kratzige Gitarren ˆ la Neil Youngs Crazy Horse ab. Nach kurzer Zeit schalt die Band auf ein fast jazziges Intermezzo um. Zum Abschluss werden dann noch spacy GitarrenlŠufe angeboten. Psychedelische AnklŠnge finden sich in ÇEntangledÈ. ÇCertain limitationsÈ kommt mit einer Ÿbertriebener Spassigkeit daher, die schon fast an Sean Altman erinnert. Vertrackten aber hoch interessanten und vor allem eingŠngigen Pop bietet Eason mit dem Titeltrack. ÇPicture you and meÈ ist dagegen schon fast ordinŠrer Folkpop, vom Zwischenspiel mal abgesehen. Mit soviel Talent gesegnet, sollte der seit den frŸhen Achtzigern aktive Terry Eason eigentlich bekannter sein.
8 out of 10
Robert Pally
Swissrecords.ch
TRANSLATION ...
As vague manual for the music of Terry Eason one may take Neil Young or Wilco. Whereby Eason, which originates from Minneapolis, goes not completely as far as for example the last Wilco work "A ghost is to fount". "Bees wants bumble" has however some experimental moments, which prove that Eason knows just as well, how one produces exciting Indie skirt. The Eroeffnugsnummer "Agony OF the thrill" drifts to Neil Youngs Crazy Horse off after a mysterious Intro toward kratzige guitars ˆ la. After short time those switches volume to a nearly jazziges Intermezzo. For the conclusion spacy guitar runs are then still offered. Psychedeli resemblances are in "Entangled". "Certain limitations" comes along with an exaggerated Spassigkeit, which reminds already nearly of Sean Altman. Vertrackten however highly interesting and above all in-usual Pop offers Eason with the title TRACK. "Picture you and ME" is times refrained against it already nearly common Folkpop, from the intermediate play. With as much talent gesegnet, the Terry Eason active since the early Achtzigern should be actually more well-known.
8 OF 10 out
Robert Pally
Swissrecords.ch
Terry Eason couldn't have possibly titled "Bees Will Bumble" any better than he did. There are enough little bits of melody, keyboards, effects and orchestration swirling around songs of pure pop genius to keep even a kid with the worst case of ADD glued to his or her headphones. The title track is quiet and urgent. Led by an electric piano and a violin floating wistfully above Eason's endearing vocals, the song is a change of pace from the previous track, "Certain Limitations," which sounds like a crowd of voices at the local mental ward. It reminds me of those foggy nights where you don't remember much, but somehow manage to wake up with an Oompa Loompa dancing at the foot of your bed. In a world where simplicity seems to be the solution to everything, there is still a place for sophisticated pop music, and Eason has found it with the help of drummer Matt Novachis and bassist Taras Ostroushko. "Bees Will Bumble" shows a level of technical playing ability that rivals Sting, but it's not overbearing or demeaning, it's fun and playful.
Terry Eason - Bees will Bumble (Jam) Fundamentally sound guitar plucking and strumming is at the root core of Terry Eason's second offering in less than a year. Rooted in the kind of indie rock that you'd expect from the '90's Athens, GA scene, Minneapolis's Terry Eason's "Bees Will Bumble" rocks you out with unexpected delight because the relatively sparse and plain vanilla CD cover doesn't let you in on the surprise that's contained within. This is a whole lot of fun.
Local guitar wizard Eason's been a reliable source of six-string zing for two decades now, both fronting his own projects and backing guys like Chan Poling and Dylan Hicks. Bees Will Bumble, his second disc in less than a year, forms a loose zoological trilogy with last year's Elephant Garden and the forthcoming The Aching of the Household Fly. As always, he covers a lot of musical ground, from straight-ahead rock to psychedelia to XTC-style pop (and even some country slide on ÒHurricane HillÓ), and does it well. The title track features guest violin by Prairie Home Companion stalwart Peter Ostroushko, whose brother Taras has played bass with Eason for years. Catch him at the 7th Street Entry July 30. Available Now
The Rake Magazine August 2004
Veteran TC guitarist Terry Eason dissects the vain, shallow, and ephemeral with melodic charm and verbal vitriol on the second part of his self-proclaimed "elephant-bee-fly" trilogy. "Who Died and Made You King?" asks one song title, and the overriding sentiments are disappointment ("the agony of the thrill defeated/the feeling that you've been cheated") and betrayal ("I scratch your back and you stab mine."). Even youthful bright days get lampooned most delightfully on the giddily biting XTC pastiche "Certain Limitations." But it's not all seething resentment or bitter 20/20 hindsight. "Hurricane Hill" looks back with a wistful, not withering, eye, and "Picture You and Me" is as sweet and optimistic a partnership proposal as you'll hear this year. --Cecile Cloutier
City Pages July 28, 2004
Poptastic Gem
While Terry Eason's been lauded for his contributions as a player in North Equator Nine and his collaborations with Chan Poling, Rhea Valentine, and Dylan Hicks, his home recordings have been in the limelight of late, and rightfully so. Elephant Garden, which should see the light of day later this year, is a poptastic gem that filters songcraft worthy of Todd Rundgren or XTC's Andy Partridge through a sweetly jaundiced Midwest worldview.
City Pages January 15, 2003
"Eason is Outside the Box"
Terry Eason has garnered a name for himself as a guitar player-slash-sideman (Dylan Hicks, Chan Poling), but that's a dumb box for this outside-the-box player. As Eason's latest five-song EP, Cry Baby (an appetizer to the forthcoming long-player "Elephant Garden"), attests, he's an ace song craftsman, wrapping such pretty pop gems as "Sensurround," "Cry Baby" and "Love Contest @ the Ol' Factory" in moog-noise, disparate-desperate vocals and mind-bending fretwork. Terrific stuff to be sure.
St. Paul Pioneer Press July 19, 2002
Terry Eason Cry baby EP This paper has argued for years that Terry Eason is the one-man Elephant Six collective of Minneapolis, as underrated for his Anglophiliac bedroom pop as his counterparts are hyped for theirs. But for more palpable evidence, buy his new Crybaby EP, which finds the understated sound tinkerer and erstwhile guitar sideman (for Dylan Hicks, Rhea Valentine, and Chan Poling) coming into his own as a new-wave vocalist who can command a band.
City Pages July 17, 2002
Finding common threads between quirky XTC-esque pop and Pink Floydian psych jams.
In a perfect world, a band like Eason wouldn't need to exist. In
a perfect world, XTC wouldn't be so smarmy, the High Llamas
wouldn't take so long to finish an album, and symphonic
'60s-influenced pop with a mild psychedelic edge would not
conjure up images of beardy Brian Wilson clones, straining out
their next "Good Vibrations". This isn't a perfect world, so
Eason come along to show us it doesn't have to be like that. Via
Satellite is the kind of record you want to play on headphones,
a stereophonic sound spectacular that twists Terry Eason's funny
little voice and quirky little lyrics around eight songs, two
epics and jerking, awkward tunes that defy you not to twitch
merrily along. And though you could fill a page with lists of
everything Via Satellite reminds you of (Paul Westerberg meets
the Cleaners From Venus, Tom Verlaine with the Turtles), it
doesn't matter, because the album itself is so totally
dislocated that by the time you reach the 25-minute "Black Wall"
(Dandy Warhols play Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive",
without hearing the original first), even a wall of pointless
improvisational sound seems somehow catchy and toe-tapping.
Which, with the right cigarettes (and the headphones, man), it
probably is.
- Dave Thompson
Alternative Press October, 1999
Eason sings softly but he plays a big guitar on the long-awaited follow-up to 1997's The Sun Also Says Howdy. By turns majestic and mournful, melodic and mescaline-glazed, songs like "Foot Down," "Killing Of The Lady," "High Life" and the 25-minute, Crimsonesque opus "Black Wall" elevate Eason to unknown hero status. Fans of Todd Rundgren, Neil Young, Guided By Voices and fellow Minnesotan Bob Mould should take special note, but any true fan of smart, gutsy guitar rock will feel at home in Via Satellite's orbit.
Demo Universe July 12, 1999
A Fascinating piece of avant-garage pop that channels
memories of a late-70's misfit adolescence, with Hammond organ
prog-rock and psychedelia from XTC to GBV This record would make
most Guitar World elitists seethe at the amount of talent being
squandered on such "lo-fi" presentation. But Terry Eason has
already revealed his pop chops as guitarist for Dylan Hicks,
mastered art-rock technique with Rhea Valentine, and proven his
own songwriting and studio smarts on Shooting Time, the
underheard 1995 effort by his defunct Ultrasonics. So he's
definitely earned the right to get self-indulgent with a solo
home recording. Eschewing perfectionism for drum-machine mayhem,
Eason plays nearly every instrument on The Sun Also Says Howdy,
where freedom from studio and band restraints expands his
ambitions. Eason's conspicuously faulty recording gear has
obvious drawbacks, like the unintelligible quality of most of
the lyrics. On the other hand, it allows for a warm, one-take
psychedelic atmosphere, such as when the shifting tape speed
pleasantly distorts and bends the 12-string chords on the
anthemic "Sometime This Century." But Eason's ease with
genre-hopping is most impressive, beginning with "Here Comes the
Hero," an over-the-top Rick Wakeman tribute/parody that sounds
like it was recorded live in 1975 and works surprisingly well as
a rocker. It's soon followed by "Living Proof," on which Eason
becomes the Glimmer Twins incarnate; and "Politics As Usual,"
which could be grafted from an ancient Replacements bootleg. And
the Eno-ish "Tarkrons Workshop" samples an interview with a
woman from an extraterrestrial cult (paging Heaven's Gate...).
This solo record is an intriguing set of homemade diversions,
and if Eason can figure out how to pull together everything he's
done so far, he's got a masterwork ahead of him.
-- Simon
Peter Groebner
City Pages July, 1997
A fascinating, enchanting record from ex-Ultrasonics guitarist Eason. Girdling the pop globe from the Rolling Stones to Brian Eno, XTC, Todd Rundgren, Ian Hunter and freakin' Yes, fer chrissakes, Terry drapes all in a hazy, blurry ambience. Don't call it "lo fi"; it's a deeper, stranger sound than that, in a league with Mercury Rev or Television Personalities. Eason is a terrific songwriter, particularly in his reflective moments; "All That I Can Do" and "Sometime This Century" would put Billy Corgan to shame, if he had any. Experimental, playful, emotional and utterly unique, The Sun Also Says Howdy is an underground treasure yearning for the light -- dig it up!
Demo Universe August 27, 1997
Eason flips a dark coin, silently wheeling up into the cool
late-evening air: "Shut Up, Thank You" is a clever, subtle,
relentless stream of consciousness over fuzzy bass and electric
guitar. You keep listening to this guy going on and waiting for
him to fuck up, waiting for him to flub up some words or
flounder for the next phrase, but he just keeps staggering along
down his lyrical path like an inexorable ghost who's hip to a
rhythm and pattern you haven't yet discerned. The emo-rock jam
session "Gray Nothing" features crafty lyrical content
accentuated with knowledgeable vocal delivery. If it were any
more energetic it would be definite feel-bad music, but this
eponymous number lofts and bobs slowly around a nebulous haze.
Early Pink Floyd, maybe, but less fruity and more relevant to
the 20-something resentful working stiff.
-The Dread
Reverend
Toast July, 2000
This is a double-CD compilation of
material that with a few exceptions has either appeared on the
Australian Camera Obscura label or has appeared on its Internet
site www.cameraobscura.com.au as a selection of their "monthly
MP3 singles club." Disc one is entirely comprised of cuts that
have come out on Camera Obscura CDs, except for Witch Hazel
Sound's previously unreleased "Sketches of the Insane" (although
Our Glassie Azoth's "Euterpe" is an edited version, and Green
Pajamas' "Sweet Sorrow" is an extended version); disc two is
entirely comprised of MP3 singles club items. The music is
largely post-modern psychedelia, sometimes on the folky side,
and the fact that Green Pajamas is by far the best-known act
gives you an idea of how little known most of these acts are to
the general public. Like much latter-day psychedelia, overall
this is far stronger on texture than songwriting; some of the
songs are pretty aimless ambient/jam-type things, others are
harmless, inconsequential tunes that take their cues from
late-'60s/early-'70s British psych. Once in a while something
tighter and more concise grabs your attention, such as Six
Organs of Admittance's "Hermitage Song," which is Donovan-esque
folk-psych, or Eason 's "Klondyke Fitzgerald,"
a very enjoyable homage to the quirky character sketches the
Kinks specialized in circa 1966-1967. Overall, though, this is
one for religious subscribers to the Ptolemaic Terrascope
fanzine and avid listeners of the post-mod psych that
publication often champions.
Ñ Richie Unterberger
AllMusic.com August, 2000
The 30 most noteworthy local records of 1995
Ultrasonics - Shooting Time
An absolutely timeless melange of
songwriting and lo-fi folk-noise-rock that recalls Yo La Tengo
and the Westerberg-Goo Goo Dolls catalogs. It created a
next-to-nothing stir upon release, but "Shooting Time" remains
one of the year's most enchanting surprises.
- Jim Walsh
St.Paul Pioneer Press 1995
Ultrasonics - Shooting Time
Somewhat on hold
while Eason pursues a solo career (see my review of The Sun Also
Says Howdy), this trio put out one terrific record in 1995.
Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians is one easy reference, what
with the psychedelic guitars, Beatleoid cadences and Eason's
pleasantly nasal voice. But that's just a surface resemblance;
for one thing, he's utterly unconcerned with weird sex, food and
insects (at least in his songs). He's also a better guitarist,
as the wild solo in "Somewhat In Love" will attest. And my fave
tune, the robotic "Sister Polly Sez," is beautifully Bowie.
Careful listeners may also pick up influences from Hendrix,
Verlaine and Eno, but anyone with a fondness for great melodic
guitar-rock owe it to themselves to snag a copy of Shooting
Time.
- Jim Santo
Demo Universe 1995