Though she sounds melancholy on her beautifully solemn debut Ripely Pine, Aly Spaltro has something to celebrate. As Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, she offers up a winning new brand of Southern discomfort (though she’s from the North), with tastes of pop, folk, and Americana. The album begins with a guitar slowly strumming sorrow, as if Spaltro is quietly waiting for the pain to go away while offering up lyrics like, “Love is selfish/Love goes tick tock tick.” She can sound sweet and angelic, then belt like a banshee because you’re too late to sweep her off her feet. Ending on a Jim Morrison-like introspective note, “Taxidermist Taxidermist” has a raw, Patti Rothberg feel, yet still builds toward a swell of sound normally heard in rock anthems. Though Spaltro is quite young, Ripely Pine will make you think you’re listening to the poetic reflections of a folk legend.
TT the Bear’s Place in Cambridge, MA — February 22, 2013
Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY — February 23, 2013
Space Gallery in Portland, ME — March 2, 2013
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper | Ripely Pine, $11, badabingrecords.com
By K.C. Focht
This review appears in the Feb/Mar 2013 issue of BUST Magazine with Jason Schwartzman. Subscribe now.
