9 May 2026 - some dune tunes (Beetlemania)

 

 

Release Date: 14 December 2022

Song Count: 9

Duration: 25 minutes, 42 seconds

Rating: 7.6/10

Description:  

 

To be honest, I had a hard time categorising this album using genre tags due to its nature as a niche work that prefers not to slot itself to any particular style categories. Will Pearce from the UK, known as Beetlemania or ukbeetlemania, is an independent artist with a trademark of making music about his special interests of nature and bugs, as he educates about them in the lyrics with a veil of gentle melodics. Promoting himself and his music primarily through short-form social media platforms, it seems that these highly unique musical pieces may gain more traction later down the line in his adventure, but for now, let us take a glance at this debut album, some dune tunes, and see what has been cooking up in the animal kingdom so far.

 

Using the sounds of traditional instruments like ukuleles, guitars and the like to create a soft sound as a backdrop, the album envelops the listener in a peaceful, almost "cozy" atmosphere and tops it with Pearce's higher-pitched singing and snappy delivery. The lyricism describes the unique lives and behaviours of different bugs and organisms in detail and makes them sound both informative and naturally leaning into the musicality. What results in the end is 9 tracks of light and curious fun that feels authentically in wonder of the going-ons of these species and their stories, varying in length but mainly keeping it to the shorter end.

 

This is very much unlike most other albums we have glanced at for the sake of this journey with its nature and intention, but this shift is certainly in a positive direction, like a breath of fresh air over many other, highly personalised music that one constantly hears. What Pearce is doing with the Beetlemania project is an inspiring endeavour that reshapes the scape of what one can do with music without steering too far into belittling or childish territory at all, which is a big feat for songs of this style. Perhaps a bit too fluffy for some in nature, but it is certainly an album one can appreciate and enjoy in its good-natured form and whimsy - never would I have thought that any sort of interest in the "Lamborghini of the toad world" (Track: "Natterjack Toad") would spark within me through music, but here we are now, and I am all in for it.