More than just the bees' knees.

77:78 is the new project from multi-instrumentalists Aaron Fletcher and Tim Parkin of The Bees. Is it a sideline or a rebranding? Impossible to say but bubbling up like a sherbet volcano, it builds on the woozy psychedelia of their day job.

It’s a light and balmy day-glo McFlurry of an album combining influences in a carefree manner with little regard for decorum. Like The Beach Boys jamming with the wrecking crew while Syd Barrett passes round the LSD-laced buns. It also evokes comparison with contemporaries Super Furry Animals and Beta Band with even a smattering of Screamadelica-era Primal Scream in the mix.

Recorded at Studio Humbug on the Isle of Wight with an arsenal of vintage instruments there’re transatlantic tips of the cap to Stax, Atlantic and Motown with liberal sprinklings of brass. In summarising their spirit of musical adventure, the band said: ” … we’re constantly inspired to go down different musical paths, which I suppose is why the record we’ve made sounds so diverse.”

Whether it’s the crunchy dub of ‘Chilli’, the easy listening jazz-lite of ’Love Said (Let’s Go)’ or the happier than Buddha-on-Prozac rush of ‘The Wagon’, it’s the perfect soundtrack for taking a spin; head stuck out the window as the 99 in your hand dribbles all over back seat. An ideal supplement to the current heatwave. Mind you, by the time you’re reading this, it’ll probably be pissing down again.
6/10
Out now