Album Reviews

On their debut full-length, Southern California’s Honeychain crushes it. Think of 90ies act such as Letters To Cleo and Veruca Salt and mix them up with The Muffs (whose Kim Shattuck produced “Crushed”) along with a dash of Blondie and you are not too far off the mark. Need more convincing? Check out opening track “Bombs Away”, which will tell you everything you need to know about this band.

Honeychain have a lot of energy going on, know their way around a hook and have a more than capable frontwoman in the form of Hillary Burton, who somehow pulls it off to sound powerful and fragile at the same time as she lays it all out there. You get a lot of bang for your buck with the catchy title track and “Messy Love,” both of which come with a 60ies garage-y vibe as well as the jangly pop of “Ready For The World To End” and the infectious “Three Horizons”.

“Crushed” might not be the most original album out there, but it is a surefire way to brighten up your day considerably. And these days, I’m thinking we can all do with some more of that in our lives.

Track listing:

1. Bombs away
2. Crushed
3. Ready for the World to End
4. Some Other Girl
5. Violet
6. When I Stumble
7. Some Boys Lie
8. Three Horizons
9. There Goes That Girl (Again)
10. Messy Love
11. Welcome To My Life