Artifact. Beech

Artifact is the second release of Belgium band Beech. EP 'Teabag' precedes it. A few noticeable facts need mentioning. Despite the fact Artifact is released on cd, it is a re-release as the album was first released as a cassette tape. Despite the fact that on pictures Beech is shown as a four piece, everything on the album was played by one person, Kristof Souvagie. Finally, the album, on cd, is released in 2022. If Fons Records had told me to be re-releasing an obscure cassette album from 1993, I would have believed it instantly. The scene is set, let's delve in.

On Artifact Beech plays music like it is the middle 90s all over. If anything, the music is influenced by Teenage Fanclub. The kind of perfect pop song, that has this little thing within it, that makes me think 'what is happening here'? Something that always makes me pause for a few seconds, as the perfection has this little edge, sometimes almost imperceptible, yet always present. If I cross the ocean I arrive at bands like The Posies, although Beech is less loud, and Nada Surf, that still excels in songs like these. I could name more, but I hope you get the picture. The album surprised me in one way really: that the first song, 'Summer's Gone', reviewed in the fall of 2021 on this blog, is quite a bit louder than the rest of the album.

So, o.k., Beech will not win first price for most original music of 2022, but may certainly be contending for best album in indie pop. The music simply pleases. If I compare it to all the acts wallowing in the doom-laden 80s revival music of recent months, Artifact is a beacon of light and beauty. The sound is open, the individual instruments are meant to be heard and added with love and attention for detail. There may be quite some overdubs, as Souvagie played everything himself, the mix allows for everything to be clearly heard and stand out.

With the songs on Artifact Beech softly strokes the parts of my brain where fond memories of past music are stored, something that can't be denied. It makes me want to play an older Sophia album I notice when listening to 'Scare A Soul'. It also opens a new drawer for itself, as I want to play the song again, immediately after the album has finished. The slow, sentimental indie ballad just does everything right. It is that kind of song. The album totally works for me, as it goes beyond sentiments by carving out its own place. I will want to play this album again and again.

Wout de Natris