SUMMER SOLSTICE: BEE STINGS

SUMMER SOLSTICE: BEE STINGS is the second edition in the Season series of limited edition Equinox/Solstice releases by the bizarre experimental electronic act COIL. The second Season was originally released on 7" and limited to 1300 copies on honey yellow vinyl and 50 copies on green vinyl. The original vinyl from 1998 only contained two tracks "Bee Stings" and "Summer Substructures" while the CD version contains two extra tracks "Glowworms / Waveforms" and "A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz)." The CD has a running time of 24:03 while the LP was meant to have side one played at 45 rpm while side two at 33 1/2 rpm. This Season along with the other three CD versions can all be found together on the compilation "Moon's Milk (In Four Phases)" "Bee Stings" has a looped melody with one of those heavy distorted synthesizer sounds accompanied by spoken lyrics about the SUMMER. There is a subdued violin as well and after a couple minutes some tribal drumming joins in along with some kind of distorted sound in the background that creates a counterpoint of power chords to the melody

"Glowworms / Waveforms" also hosts more spoken poetic lyrics, a dark ambient background gaze and a goat or two making goat noises. More noises join in: a buzz, a rhythmic noise simulating a heartbeat i guess and various ringing things and other synth effects

"Summer Substructures" is very similar with a airy breezy background ambience with a violin and vocals that are actually sung but retain a British accent. This one is the longest clocking in over the eight minute mark. It oddly reminds me of Laurie Anderson and her avant-garde ways of taking a violin, a strange melody and milking for all its weirdness. The melody on this one is very odd. It is very angular, obtuse and melodically oblique. There seems to be something conjuring up in SUMMER's bounty but it remains a very strange tumbling of soundscapes that create some sort of 20th century classical avant-garde music

"A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz)" is a jarring and complete 180 from the overly subdued previous track. This is a violent industrial electronica act that sounds like a synthesizer is exploding from within. Given the title, it very much represents the violent flares of Sun activities. After random noise, a very bizarre melody emerges with sung vocals. The violent sun spot activity sounds continue to provide the chaotic percussion while the almost Hawaiian melody that can barely be made out provides the backbone to the dissonant vocal attempts to harmonize. Strange one here

This one is sufficiently bizarre but the vocals on this one just rub me the wrong way. They mar the otherwise perfectly surreal soundscapes and add a layer of goofiness to it all. It would have been much better if some attempt to create equally bizarre vocals were on board. This has always been my least favorite Season releases even though summer is my favorite season. This one just didn't make all the elements on board gel into the proper summery stew