I know virtually nothing about Collections of Colonies of Bees, except that they have a rather unwieldy name, and that they have released my favorite song of the year so far, an expansive, epic instrumental track called “Flocks III.”
Flocks III – Collections of Colonies of Bees
It dances and lilts like a scrap of paper in the wind. It batters your senses like a drenching rain, and shatters like a crystal glass errantly cast aside. It calls to mind a collaboration between Mogwai and The Six Parts Seven, or perhaps the melding of cool blue and fiery orange in Joseph Mallord William Turner painting.
It’s the sound of water flowing through a thousand underground caverns, echoing, reflecting. And with each passing second it grows, expands until you think you simply cannot take anymore. But still, you can’t tell whether the inevitable release will be gentle – a smooth sled-ride down an endless hill in the clear blue morning after a heavy snow – or if it will be an absolute catastrophe. The tension is maddening and yet…not knowing is part of what makes it so exhilarating.
The album is called Birds (and thanks to Chris at Music of the Moment for turning me onto this track).