Bee Appleseed is back, and he’s bringing the whole cosmic neighborhood with him. After a five-year solo hiatus (though somehow still releasing a small universe of music with his psych-collective Elf Freedom), Bee re-emerges with 21st Century Prayer, a double LP packed with song, soul, and collective spirit.
Its finale, “I Believe In You,” is a radiant, psychedelic folk-rock benediction that wraps the listener in warmth like a sunbeam through stained glass.
Swelling with over 30 musicians and singers (strings, horns, chiming 12-string guitars, and the heartbeat of a unified chorus), the song is Bee’s open-armed anthem to hope, community, and the fragile-but-beautiful mess of being alive in the 21st century.
The music video, co-directed with Nora Keyes and edited by Isaiah Andrés Galarza, returns Bee to his Oregon roots. His hometown is lovingly referenced in verse two and even encoded in the track’s length (5:03 = Oregon’s 503 area code). It’s all intentional. All love.
Lyrically, Bee weaves personal mythology with universal prayer: “Don’t be surprised by the disguise that the messenger wears,” he warns before leading the chorus in the heart-lodging refrain: “I believe in you, do you believe in me?”
Appleseed’s music is psychedelic campfire gospel. It’s part Dylan, part cosmic bard, part traveling minister of melody. “I Believe In You” is a fitting final track to 21st-century Prayer: a communal chant echoing into the dawn.
And it’s always darkest before the dawn, right?
Check out “I Believe In You” by Bee Appleseed on Bandcamp here.
Bee Appleseed: Bandcamp | Instagram | Official Website
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