The Break and Repair Method - Milk the Bee

The Break and Repair Method isn't a totally new band, it's actually a side project of Matchbox Twenty's guitarist Paul Doucette. While on a break from his usual band, Paul Doucette rounded up a few musicians including Tracy Bonham, Moon Zappa (Doucette's wife) and Matchbox Twenty's Matt Beck to record material he'd been working on personally. After a couple record deals fell through, he ended up with a fully developed album that is much better than anything someone would produce just looking for a way to pass time between tours.


Milk the Bee actually kind of sounds like the follow-up to The Fray's debut How to Save A Life. While this may be a stigma or a knock in some circles, I mean that they sound similar. Both have great pounding pianos and a knack for melody. It's playful, and different than anything Matchbox Twenty has ever put out. Doucette doesn't have an amazing voice, but he works with what he has and makes up for what he doesn't with catchy melodies that ask to be sung along to. In fact, many of the songs are really really catchy. He manages to do pay homage to the Beatles, Randy Newman, and Jeff Tweedy. If you're wondering about the title of the album, it's in reference to the difficulty of making the album as well as working without a record deal at the outset. I wasn't expecting the album to be stunning or life-changing, but it has been a delightful surprise to hear that creativity doesn't die when you're playing rhythm guitar for years and years in a successful pop band.

"You Won't Be Able To Be Sad"