Local guitar hero Terry Eason (he's played as a sideman for just about everybody in town, but you may remember him specifically from his work with Dylan Hicks, Rhea Valentine, and his own outfits, The Ultrasonics and Eason) files part two of his elephant-bee-fly trilogy (can't wait to hear the flies, man) with Bees Will Bumble, a shimmering, electrifying batch of psychedelic-laced mod pop. Once again backed by the excellent Eason line-up of bassist Taras Ostroushko, drummer Matt Novachis, and guitarist Jeff Waryan (with guest appearances by fab one-time Dylan collaborator Peter Ostroushko and percussionist Wes Morden), the wily axe-man has managed to top even the grand, soul-edifying grooves of his previous release, 2003's Elephant Garden.

Bees Will Bumble finds Eason expanding on his patented Sonic Youth-meets-Guided By Voices sound (yet retaining his subtle, keen sense of humor), though those monster riffs and razor-sharp pop hooks are still in plentiful abundance. There's an urgency to this albumÑperhaps because of, or in spite of, the times we live in, and the subject matter is timely, to say the least. But where others in the indie rock world are tackling the grand, ugly picture of how these Lost Days are affecting the world as a whole, Eason, for the most part, snuggles in to the smaller, more intimate universe around him, and how that larger picture is affecting it, himself, and the ones he loves.

In ÒAgony Of The Thrill (Cheated),Ó one of a few cuts on Bees Will Bumble that specifically comments on the generally crumbling state of the Empire Of America, he laments the negative effect that our modern entertainment culture has had on both the youth population and the artistic community: "All spaced out and oversexed/The agony of the thrill defeated/The feeling like you've been cheated..." then lays out his concerns over lush pop-rock chords with an aural "what-the-fuck" vibe that brings to mind that shot of Jim Morrison right after he got busted by Miami cops for pretending to fornicate with a farm animal onstageÑface screwed up in mock-surprise, hands held up in studied confusion.

"Entangled" is a chunky rocker that deals with the loss of friendship and respect for a fellow artist who's let their talent go to their headÑand is probably the most bitter, Lennon-esque musical jab I've heard since, well, since Lennon's poke at McCartney, "How Do You Sleep?" I don't know who Terry's writing about here, but whoever it is, they must've really pulled a shitty one to deserve lyrics like: "Your cheap stage drama/Turned into a Frankenstein/We got entangled/I scratch your back and you stab mine..." and "You got your cronies/Always at your beck and call/Just like you, phony/And so "professional"/I hope you're happy..." Typically, though, Eason throws an infectiously upbeat hook and line right into the mix for the chorus: "I don't feel bad at all/Better than I did before/I hope you're happy now/Better than you were before..."

The title track, "Bees Will Bumble," kicks off on a gorgeous keyboard riff, then eases in with Peter Ostroushko's hypnotic violin strokes, and deals with a couple's worries and concerns as the world around them "starts to fall and crumble," but once again, Terry finds a nugget of hope, even in that dark corner: "When everyone's proud we'll still be humble/We may step on stones/But we'll never stumble..." "Hurricane Hill" finds the author lamenting those good/crazy ole days gone by(e), and crooning over Jeff Waryan's soul-weary lap steel cry: "I used to be an optimist/I used to try to make a list/Of all the reasons to exist/But then I lost it..."

Eason doesn't make any shallow, rock-star attempts to offer solid solutions to the subjects he tacklesÑthe denigration of civilization as we know it, love in the 21st Century, phoniness, fake friends, loneliness, and boredomÑbut he does make it all a little easier to take by simply acknowledging that we're all merely human, and that maybe this bullshit really is all part of a grander plan that we can't possibly hope to understand or change. Staving it off, loving who you love with all you've got, tolerating the rest of the monkeys out there to the best of your ability, and not being afraid to speak up or out against things that you know in your heart and soul are wrongÑthat's the best you can do. And maybe that's the best advice of all.

In Bees Will Bumble's final cut, "Church Of Offended Ministries (Cheated Again)," he lays it all out on the line over wistful guitars and keys: "...Santa Claus has virtue by the condescending nuns/What you don't know will never hurt you hurry past the frozen guns/Redneck mister white trash saying that his balls are blue/His favorite pain is car crash singing stars and stripes for you/Listerine and serpent tongues calling all the souls to be free/The leader of the church of the offended ministries/And if it were all up to me, we'd be wearing brand new clothes/we'd defy the status quo/we'd be having laugh tracks too/Just like the funny channels do/And if it were all up to me/We would probably just make do..."