Brunnen is the solo moniker of Beequeen's Freek Kinkelaar. Combining thirteen songs written and recorded over thirteen years, and containing "some" previously released recordings, The Beekeeper's Dream almost functions as an anthology of Brunnen's recorded output. However, the lack of discographical details for most tracks is maddening to the more anal listener (obviously this includes me). It is rare that what bills itself as an introduction to an artist is this coy about how/where to find more releases. When taken in sum with the fact that nowhere on the sleeve (not even on the spine) can one find the name Brunnen and that the track listing does not match the disc itself, it makes for a somewhat confusing experience.
Fortunately, the music on this understated affair redeems the sloppy packaging. The subdued atmosphere is established early with the opening track "Cover Me" whose chamber arrangement recalls prime 1960's Scott Walker but with electronic flourishes burbling around the edges to keep things fresh. Following this with the slinky cover of Fay Luytendijk's bittersweet "All The Same" is a move that only gets better with repeated listens. Other highlights include a oddly skewed version of "Trust in Me" (from the Jungle Book!) and the tastefully spare solos on "Winterland Train" and "The Wolf Hour."
Kinkelaar shares his friend Edward Ka-Spel's rounded enunciation and LPD fans will find eerie Ka-Spel resonances in the vocal melodies, cadence, and inflections (particularly noticeable in "Marias of the Seas"). But Kinkelaar finds his own voice as well in the delightfully sinister "The Trial." There's a great deal of care, thoughtfulness, and inventiveness in these recordings but it's never showy. Only occasionally do some of the techniques get overdone. For example, the bouncy electro-pop of "666" is a beautiful counterpoint to the imprecations of its protagonist who "kills for my pleasure." The song eventually yields to an invading noisy clangor which makes the menace more overt but destroys the tension between the lyrics and music. Wisely, Kinkelaar never overstays his welcome on a song and the sequencing of the disc flows very well so if what he's weaving at the moment doesn't grab you, you've never got too long to wait before there are new treats to gnaw on. While it may be that The Beekeepers Dream represents the best of thirteen years of work, one hopes there can be more Brunnen made available before another baker's dozen years have passed.
