Blending the beautiful strings of a classic art song with the funky bass of modern neo-soul, “Behold A Queen” buzzes through the air. Art Thief and Aubrey Haddard weave a dreamlike tale of a bee as the second release on Art Theif’s full-length album Tough Crowd.
Aubrey Haddard’s offbeat lyrics float with an octave split over Jeremy Truitt’s busy drumming and the bee-like bumbling of Sam Smith’s bass. Each musical moment captures the odd interaction with a bee.
“I think I like her stinging me,” they observe, simultaneously angelic and robotic. A striking balance with Dan Frankhuzien’s cello at the beginning. Drifting across musical styles, “Behold A Queen” is hard to pin down to one genre. Ethereal and supernatural, the erratic energy barely contained by the languid lyrics captures the spirit of a spontaneous moment in nature.
The moments of peace, like when “stinging me” repeats in a pedal point around the harmonic movement, jars pleasantly. Accenting these stillness in the chaos are sharp, crunchy chords from the keys. They sparkle like light refracting on the wings.
Stream “Behold A Queen” below.


Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.
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