Secrets of the Beehive by David Sylvian

Secrets of the Beehive, David Sylvian's third studio album and fourth release overall, came out on Virgin on 26 October 1987 in Europe and America, and it finds the former Japan frontman turning further inward. Steve Nye produced, and the space around every note is the point: hushed arrangements, room to breathe, and that baritone, low and grave, sounding like it's confiding rather than performing.

Sylvian has explained that the beehive of the title stands for an ideal society, an ordered hierarchy, and his songs keep circling the longing to belong to one and the nagging sense of never quite fitting in. "Orpheus" is the pick, slow and aching. Arriving after Gone to Earth, it reached 37 on the UK album chart, and it plays like art pop made for late nights and closed doors.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.