For, on the one hand, it seems intolerant in the extreme to call this music anything other than 'pop', in the truest musical sense. Yet, on the other, it fails several of the usual tests. Most obviously, the arrangement of Bee Thousand , both in musical space and in time, breaks from convention in some important ways. The production strews instruments around the record with what at first seems like complete disregard for their interactions, but which, on further examination, seems to be ultra-careful intent. Audio fidelity of any given part frequently changes drastically from song to song, and sometimes even within a song.
Parts come in and drop out.
Odd quasi-incidental recording artifacts drift in in company with expected elements, so that a sparkling guitar melody will bring along an odd insectoid buzzing, and a rich harmony vocal seems to arrive over phone lines that are overdue for replacement. Drums turn up missing on more than one track where their presence seems anticipated. The flow of the record over time is nearly as strange as its arrangement across the musical spectrum. Songs start and stop with little warning, and with no evident concern for anything like completion. Several last long enough to stick in the mind as coherent pieces, but I'm not sure there's a single track here that wouldn't sound strange pulled out of the context of the album and played on its own.