BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE have released ‚Departure‘, the first advance single from their forthcoming fourth album ‚In Between Strides‘. The German shoegaze rockers are set to release the new full-length on September 18, 2026 via Magnetic Eye Records. The record marks a deliberate shift toward more melodic territory for the Stuttgart-based four-piece.BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE have unveiled ‚Departure‘, the lead single from their upcoming fourth album ‚In Between Strides‘, due September 18, 2026 on Magnetic Eye Records. The track offers the first glimpse into a record that represents a significant creative turning point for the German shoegaze outfit.
Frontman Simon Weinrich has described ‚Departure‘ as the first song written for the album and the most challenging to complete. The track grew from a desire to move toward more melodic and straightforward songwriting following the sprawling ambition of their previous album ‚Aion‘ (2023). Notably, the second section of the song began as an entirely separate composition before being merged, with a Fender Rhodes piano — played through the band’s standard guitar setup — introduced during early sessions near Passau and later re-recorded at Milberg Studios.
The album itself was shaped by an unconventional working method. BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE recorded each track without knowledge of what would follow, capturing sessions across a variety of locations including a cellar, a concert stage, a living room and the studio where their debut ‚Medicine‘ was tracked. This spontaneous approach steered the band texturally from ambient and drone toward shoegaze, incorporating more acoustic elements along the way.
Lyrically, ‚In Between Strides‘ charts a journey of uncertain outcomes, functioning as both a personal reflection on BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE’s creative evolution and a broader meditation on departure and searching. The five-track album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Ralv Milberg at Milberg Studios in Stuttgart.