The Zangwills arrive with their new single, ‘Beers With The Beekeeper,’ and my first thought, naturally, is whether one should opt for full netting or just a casual veil for such a chat. It’s a title that hums with a peculiar sort of promise, much like the song itself.
This track from The Zangwills, with Jake Vickers’ distinctive vocals out front, champions the profound, almost primal urge for open, honest spillage of the soul. The instrumentation – a collaborative weave from Ed Dowling, Adam Spence, and Sam Davies – builds this feel-good summer current, all indie-pop sunshine. It’s the kind of jaunty tune you’d half-expect to hear from an ice cream van that, surprisingly, only plays deep cuts from The Smiths. Yet, this bright musical buoyancy almost acts as a protective layer, making it easier to voice the hurts, particularly the stings of past love.
The lyrics navigate this journey from emotional lockdown to a brave new world of dialogue. There’s a celebration of finding your confessor in the most unexpected of guises – the older regular in a pub, perhaps, or indeed, a beekeeper. Someone removed, judgment-free. It’s this therapeutic exchange with a near-stranger that fascinates; like whispering secrets to the ocean, only the ocean buys you a pint and nods sympathetically. The Zangwills even play with that delicious miscommunication inherent when we’re “stung by love” – are we discussing heartache or actual apian assault? It’s a beautifully human muddle.
This isn’t about grand pronouncements; it’s about the quiet courage it takes to unbind your words, those internal knots that suddenly loosen with a pint and a patient ear. The song itself feels like that moment of clarity after a long, winding conversation where, even if not everything is resolved, at least it’s out.
Does the beekeeper, one wonders, get to share his own apiary anecdotes, or is he destined to be the silent, sage-like receptacle for everyone else’s honeyed (or bitter) truths?
