I’ve come to find that my relationship with bands is strangely similar to my relationship with girls. Just like seeing an attractive girl for the first time, I’ll hear a new song and immediately be enthralled. I’ll ponder my prospective relationship with the band and subsequently plan out the rest of my life next to them (like a crazy person). The only problem with this method, though, is that, while the first part is so amazing, once I listen to the whole album, I often find that the rest it is simply full of shit. I can try and focus on that initial part I loved so much, but I know I’ll never be able to get over those 10 boring filler tracks.
Thus, with this depressingly disappointing trap in mind, I was hesitant when listening to Honey Wild for the first time. I heard “Vandal Eyes” and was immediately excited, but I assumed that this was their good-looking, big-smiling song, to be followed by a second date filled with dull conversation. Surprisingly, however, this wasn’t the case. As I spent more time with their latest three-track releases Mea Culpa and Magnifique Innocent Demo, I found that they every song contained that up-beat, off-kilter modern rock sound that intrigued me in the first place. In songs like “Turnaround” and “7 Train”, Joe Steven’s idiosyncratic vocals play around a consistently fast-paced guitar and drums, making the band sound like a more classic rock version of Vampire Weekend. This awesome, rock-induced quirkiness pervades all of their records and will no doubt have you bobbing your head.
Download all of their albums including their latest, Mea Culpa here.