Honeypie
Fields Don't Disappear
http://ilovehoneypie.com/
“Seasons
change but the weather stays the same” goes a line on the opening track “Miss
Me” from Fields Don't Disappear, the long awaited full-length album by
Honeypie. There's been better (and far worse) when comes to casual
poetry in music, but it's a good assessment of how their style of Anglophilic indie pop manages to stay around year after year. The debut album employs rollicking beats on “No Difference” that are pure Motown-via-Smiths —
making the bit of steel guitar from multi-instrumentalist Ryan Radcliff an enjoyable contrast. And the way “Tyler”
builds up its own spiky arrangement is engaging rather than long-winded and melodramatic.
]
But
it's nearly impossible to put the key focus anywhere other than the other
core member Trisha Smith, whose clean, warm, immediate and forthright vocals are able
to match a stirring arrangement and great chorus on “Better Place” with
the exact style and energy it deserves. On “Shooting Stars,” written by
another local favorite, Billy Kernkamp, Smith shows how easily she can
lead a duet even when it's nearly all harmony singing with guest Spencer
Askin (who turns in a nice trumpet solo himself).
On
a song like “Della,” reminiscent of Phil
Spector/Ronettes' “Be My Baby” drumbeat, the soft string arrangement and
reverb, allow Smith to capturing a '50s without diverting into pointless
pastiche. Her voice floats over the brushed drums of
“Naturally,” something of a sweeter and less spooked variation of
Mazzy Star's entrancing, hazy approach that balances well with the band in a way that ensures that none of the nuances of the record go missing.
Fields Don't Disappear will be released on June 26th via http://honeypie.bandcamp.com/
