The Bees Mees

posted in: Artist Features • Rock

On his boozy sing-along, In the Fall, singer/songwriter/composer Jared Mees salutes the music out there that warms my insides / And makes my days a tiny little bit more de-miserified [sic]. Listening to it, that one stanza encapsulates much of what Mees’ musicology is all about ” a depth of feeling channeled wryly through slapdash folk rock. With his reedy, whiskey-weathered voice, Mees charges from one verse to the next breathlessly, dragging listeners herky-jerky through the rollicking melody, where accordions wheeze and drums stomp along gamely. On the lurching Bees, Mees adds a smattering of strings and winsome female vocals to mix. The radio’s on and it’s turning my heart into gold, he sings. Maybe it’s the viola, pulsing insistently, maybe it’s Mees’ plainspoken delivery of poignant musings that makes it all so charming. Whatever the secret to his songcraft is, it’s definitely a  de-miserifier.