San Diego-based songstress Barbara Nesbitt captures all that’s pretty and earthy on “The Bees”, a carefully-nurtured album that ought to ensure that her popularity extends across the Atlantic Ocean. Simply put, this is an album of all-round Americana splendour.
Through the soulful opener (“Come to Find Out”) to the absorbing title track, an immediate confidence is detected in Ms Nesbitt’s approach to her craft. Backed by a stellar cast of contributing musicians, Ms Nesbitt has suitable license to exercise her lyrical and vocal talents. A major part of this is knowing how to achieve maximum effect with vocals and lyrics and Ms Nesbitt certainly scores high.
“Losin’ Time” is commendable as a modern-day take on the Bakersfield sound with Dennis Caplinger also laying down some delightful fiddle. There’s some old-time sentimentality on offer, too, on “Good for Something”. In either instance, Nesbitt’s voice is wholesome and warm; so much so that you may need to convince yourself that “Message to You” is not in fact addressed to you.
“The Big Picture” is almost anthemic, benefitting from some delightfully rootsy instrumentation, while “Give In”, by contrast, takes on the form of a sombre (yet melodious) intervention in a situation concerning one’s struggles with love. Once again, Nesbitt has the listener by the heart.
There’s a genuine feeling of sadness on “When Summer Is Over”, and such reflective tones carry into “Quicksand”, on which imagery is more important than ever. A borrowed song (“Like Strangers” by Boudleaux Bryant) proves to be a winning end to the album. Sang as a duet with Bill Coomes – whose influence on the musical side of the album should not be overlooked – it caps off an album that doubles as an emotional round-trip on a positively sweet note.
A point that shouldn’t go amiss is that this album has been released by no label but Ms Nesbitt herself. Listening to the album does not give that impression, however. Plaudits should also go to Jeff Berkley for some excellent production work.
It could be said that the “Americana” scene has been waiting for an album like this for a long time. While never straying far from a surprisingly mature country-folk sound, this album could easily propel Barbara Nesbitt into mainstream country fame. A truly excellent release.
Available from CD Baby.