Bep's Debut EP 'Bruises and Bee Stings' Creates Art Through the Remembrance of Heartbreak
Album Cover for Bruises and Bee Stings
A storyteller and musician, Bep skillfully weaves love, loss, and heartbreak into the larger vision of her unique narrative in her debut EP Bruises and Bee Stings. Bep, whose real name is Bell Fortebuono, released the EP on September 5th to listeners on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
It becomes apparent early in the project that Bep is an artist who is more than comfortable in her own sound. On “slow dancing (kitchen light),” she sings to invoke feelings of warmth, safety, and contentment. The mood is equally fitting, with soft piano and warm instrumentals backing Bep’s breathtaking vocals and painting a perfect picture of the scene she describes.
“I wrote this song in October of 2020,” she explained in an interview with Five Cent Sound. “It was about my now-ex boyfriend. He was in college and I was reminiscing on our relationship in the summer, the nights he would spend at my house and how we would dance in my kitchen. This is probably one of my less realistic songs in the sense where I really romanticized those moments.”
The second track,“summer day,” taps into the soul-touching melancholy that gradually becomes Bep’s modus operandi as the EP goes on. “I guess I’m just a summer day to you,” she sings over soft instrumentals, invoking simultaneous feelings of pain and nostalgia with her words.
Immediately following this is “winter in Boston,” a song that shows the journey from hopelessness to a reflection of outward love. This track stands out for its unique instrumentals and sound work, which culminate in a chill-invoking montage of disconnected voices which Bep describes as the vocalized support of those she loves. “I wanted to put in the voices of the people that I loved because it gave me hope.”
From there, Bep’s message takes a turn for the darker with “until you’re finished,” the EP’s penultimate track. It’s the point where her words of forlorn heartbreak mix with moments of unabashed anger, and the end-result is truly interesting. “I’m a temporary fix,” she laments, “until you’re finished.”
On the EP’s final track, “for the people who love me,” Bep reconciles her pain with a parting message of unconditional love. After so many songs filled with heartbreak, sadness, and hurt, it’s a comforting note to end upon. Several different stories begin and end with this track, from her ex-boyfriend and his frog pond to her friend Diana’s life-changing trip to Greece.
Through it all, Bep stresses the point that should her music fail her, she will still have the love of those around her to move her along. “I don't think that there's any relationship that could overpower my love for music,” she explained. “So if I lose my voice, I know I have my family and I know I have Diana to sing all my songs for me.”
Rating: 9.5/10
You can listen to Five Cent Sound’s full interview with Bep here:
& Check Out Bep’s Debut EP Bruises and Bee Stings Here: