The Honeydogs are back. Four years after What Comes After comes ... Love & Cannibalism. Adam Levy and his band recorded the album at The Pearl Studio in Minneapolis with producer John Fields (Semisonic, Rooney). Love & Cannibalism will be out April 16, 2016.
The album opens with a straight rocker: Vermillion Billows (Shouldn't Take It So Hard).Devices sums up classic Honeydogs sound with soul and jazz influences. Art & Vandalism goes into your ears and gets stuck in your brain (careful!) - it's such an ear-worm. Wheels has a classic (maybe 1970s) touch - the ending is magnificent. Gorgeous harmonies accompany Left Alone. Yet another bad-ass ear-worm.
And then comes Sandstorm: My gosh - this is such a strong song. By the way: the intro reminds me of Bleu's Redhead. Again a hard rocking track: Blue-Backed Speller. The guitar work is stunning, reminds me sometimes of Brian May's Queen sound.
Look Through The Sun (Photokeratits),Arguing With Fiction and Ordinary Legs are instant Honeydogs classics. I rest my case. The record finishes with a slightly seldom kind of album ending song: Little Sister is so positive - or better: it just makes you happy. The track mixes upbeat elements (I LOVE the chorus) with Caribbean sound.
For me Love & Cannibalism is the counterpart to Adam Levy's Naubinway from 2015. While Naubinway is sometime hard to get through because of its meaning (which is reflected in every song), Love & Cannibalism is straight, positive and full of joy.
Just to make sure: Don't get me wrong about Naubinway - I love the record (see my Top 10 list of 2015).
In my opinion there is not a single filler or skippable song on Love & Cannibalism. Every songs stands on his own. This may be one of the best things you can say about a record.
Listen (and watch the video) to "Arguing With Fiction" here:
You can and would do well to buy Love & Cannibalism at Bandcamp after its mid-April 2016 release.
It's mid-december, the nights are getting longer, days shorter - so it's time to finish the year 2015 (musically). Again it was an incredible year with stunning new music! Here they are - my Top 10 Records of 2015: 1. Adam Levy - Naubinway
A really good record can be found almost every month. But then there are unique records. Special albums that stay in your mind - and on your turntable/CD-player/smartphone - for a long time. They are really seldom (for me it's about one or two in a decade).
Naubinway - the first solo record of Minneapolis music legend Adam Levy (best known from The Honeydogs) - is out now! And for me it IS one of these unique recordings.
Adam Levy's son Daniel committed suicide in 2012. Adam stopped his musical work and spent much of the next three years grieving and sharing his story in public forums. In 2014 Adam started to work on the new record. The songs are very introspective and refer to the time around this tragic event. Naubinway has become an album of exquisite songcraft that focuses on the themes of love, loss, grieve and grace.
Daniel s stunning artwork is featured on the cover and in a 32-page booklet.
Every single one of the 13 tracks is self-contained and quite different from each other which makes it very hard to recommend single songs to get a taste of the album. I simply recommend to listen to the LP from start to finish.
If you just want 3-4 songs at first listen to "Take It As It Comes" (it's simply beautiful), "Atoms Never Die" (it's haunting; one of the very few songs I know that I tend to repeat just after the first run), "Naubinway" (it's overwhelming and heartbreaking) and "When Your Well Runs Dry" (I'm sure Lennon would have been jealous because he didn't write it himself).
Buy Naubinway at Bandcamp (or listen to it entirely) or Amazon.com (CD, Vinyl, digital) 2. Pugwash - Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends)
I'm sure no artist likes to be compared with other ones ... except its idols.
So it's no shame to state that Pugwash is best located somewhere very near to The Beatles and E.L.O. It's already four years since the impressive forerunner Olympus Sound. Now Pugwash are back with their new record Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends). And it's huge!
3. Marc Martel - Impersonator
Three years ago Marc Martel posted a video of a Queen cover on YouTube. I'm very sure he didn't expect at all what would happen after that: 10 million people watched the video.
He became the frontman at the official Queen Tribute Band (Queen Extravaganza) - chosen by Queen drummer Roger Taylor - and toured the world. In 2013 he released his debut EP (Prelude EP), which was co-produced by Bleu and produced by John Fields.
Earlier in 2015 the full debut record was out (also produced by Fields): Impersonator has become my personal best debut record in at least the last 5 years. The record is filled with 12 songs and 47 minutes of pure intensity and passion for good music.
Yes, Freddie Mercury comparisons can't be denied. Listen to "Stalemate" or "Our Best" and get a picture of it. But please also listen to "Paradise" or "Say The Word". He is much more than a voice double. He is one of the most talented new artists out there.
4. Aqualung - 10 Futures 10 Futures is the latest album by Matt Hales - also known as Aqualung.
I was very sceptic about this record. About half of the songs are performed by guest vocalists, which is quite new to Aqualung. And the first single Tape 2 Tape shocked me the first time I listen to it quite a bit.
The thing is: this record is a grower. A huge grower. The 10 songs combine a wide range of genres into a surprisingly homogeneous result.
Stand-out tracks are hard to name. I recommend to start with: Tape 2 Tape, Eggshells, Be Beautiful, New Low, Hearts, To The Wonder (every single one of these songs would be worth it alone to buy the album).
5. Taylor Locke - Time Stands Still
Taylor Locke co-founded the L.A. based band Rooney in 1999 and was signed to Geffen Records at the age of 18. After 3 albums and a number one single in Germany he was ready now for a solo career with his debut solo album "Time Stands Still".
The record has 10 songs and not a single filler - Time Stands Still is full of highlights:
There are songs of pure beauty - like the opener Burbank Woman, the title track Time Stands Still or The Art Of Moving On. Running Away From Love travels back to the 70s, So Long is the perfect track for radio airplay and the heavy Call Me Kuchu occupies the middle of the LP.
There are lyrics from the late Kim Fowley, as well as co-writing with singer-songwriter Kelly Jones and Chris Price (who is also a member of Taylor Locke & The Roughs).
Time Stands Still has its band parts, but there are also intimate acoustic parts where the band steps aside. And it's exactly these parts, which makes this album so special to me.
6. Ron Sexsmith - Carousel One
There's not much to say to the new Ron Sexsmith record (in the best way you can imagine) except it's high quality music as always.
7. Jim Boggia - Ukepop
Jim started a Patreon campaign more than a year ago (more information HERE). It's all about music and ukulele. It works like this: You follow the artist. Every time he releases a new video or song, you pay for it automatically. You can pay different subscription levels - and get different rewards.
On November 2, 2015 he offered a CD called UKEPOP filled with his ukulele songs. It's exclusive for patreons and was available until November 15, 2015.
It's really sad that this isn't purchasable anymore (maybe it will be again in the future, you never know).
8. Brandon Schott - Crayons & Angels
Brandon Schott is not just a very fine musician, he's also a great human being! His new record Crayons & Angels was out in 2015 on Curry Cuts.
"It was in a small two bedroom condo on Louise Street in Glendale, California that the story of Crayons & Angels began. In the healing shadow of a life changing illness I started writing and recording an album called Dandelion. That album featured music that ended up being little meditations, reflecting back on the immediate past of those years. But there were other songs that started to emerge at the same time. Songs that felt very different, that played through the darkness more like a celebration of spirit. They've been kicking around ever since, waiting for the right record to shine. These are the songs that inform the heart of Crayons & Angels."
Brandon Schott, Summer 2015
9. The Candle Thieves - Chemicals Of The Imagination
I'm a fan of The Candle Thieves for some years now. Their latest record Chemicals Of The Imagination was available for pre-order for a short time at their Official Website a few weeks ago. Now it's not anymore - the official release will be sometime in 2016. I hope so!
10. Mike Viola - Stairway To Paradise
Mike Viola is playing guitar in Ryan Adams’ band the Shining for almost a year now.
In return the "Stairway To Paradise" 7″ (available on vinyl and digital) was produced and recorded by Adams.
The title track is slightly different from what Mike has done before. It's darker, quite mysterious - but still with his well known ability for harmonies. "Roxxy Girl" and "Clink Glasses, Salud" prove he's again on top of his game.
Side note: If you look at the song length you'll recognize that three of the four songs are just 60 to 100 seconds long. That's really short for a song, but regarding to Mikes' discography it's exactly the length of the best songs he's ever written.
Ryan Adams talks about Mike Viola at Pax-AM: "Mike is a genius. His songs are pure genius. He records himself though sometimes and he ruins everything. So I made him come to my studio and just him and me made music under the name Defcon 4 ( which is a really funny story where I tried to be friends with him for 4 FUCKING YEARS and he never really wrote back so I wrote him a mean email and he asked if we could please bring it down to Defcon 4 please… now we are true bros )…. Anyway he is a genius and I basically make him make stuff really quickly and not think about it. When you do that to him he breaks your heart. Fuck you, Mike. You’re so smart you asshole. I love you. These tracks are assorted, a few from the first session we ever did together and a few from the concept record “I’m Going To Kill You” that Mike is making about going back in time and hunting his own self."
A really good record can be found almost every month. But then there are unique records. Special albums that stay in your mind - and on your turntable/CD-player/smartphone - for a long time. They are really seldom (for me it's about one or two in a decade). Naubinway - the first solo record of Minneapolis music legend Adam Levy (best known from The Honeydogs) - is out now! And for me it IS one of theseunique recordings.
Adam Levy (2015)
The album is released by Think Piece Publishing - which is quite surprising at first sight. But at a closer look it is the perfect choice: Think Piece Publishing was founded in 2012 by Adam Wahlberg just for one reason: to introduce people of shared health backgrounds to each other. Dealing with health challenges can be hard, especially when these are stigmatized - like mental illness.
Adam Levy - Live in Berlin 2014
Adam Levy's son Daniel committed suicide in 2012. Adam stopped his musical work and spent much of the next three years grieving and sharing his story in public forums. In 2014 Adam started to work on the new record. The songs are very introspective and refer to the time around this tragic event. Naubinway has become an album of exquisite songcraft that focuses on the themes of love, loss, grieve and grace.
Daniel s stunning artwork is featured on the cover and in a 32-page booklet.
Naubinway - Cover Artwork
Adam Wahlberg describes the LP: "The
songs are amazing. They’re raw, lyrical, melodic, mostly acoustic, and
yes, at times, painful, but in a beautiful and healing way. I can’t wait
for you to hear them."
The first track - Take It As It Comes - and its wonderful video is here:
The record is mainly acoustic, focussing just on the guitar play and the vocals.
Every single one of the 13 tracks is self-contained and quite different from each other which makes it very hard to recommend single songs to get a taste of the album. I simply recommend to listen to the LP from start to finish.
If you just want 3-4 songs at first listen to "Take It As It Comes" (it's simply beautiful), "Atoms Never Die" (it's haunting; one of the very few songs I know that I tend to repeat just after the first run), "Naubinway" (it's overwhelming and heartbreaking) and "When Your Well Runs Dry" (I'm sure Lennon would have been jealous because he didn't write it himself).
Naubinway - the first solo record of Minneapolis music legend Adam Levy (best known from The Honeydogs) - will be out in September 2015.
Ben Folds - So There
Ben Folds teams uo with yMusic and will release his new album "So There" in September 2015. Interesting fact: there are only 8 tracks - and a 21 minute long orchestral piece ("Concerto For Piano and Orchestra").
Darwin Deez - Double Down
Darwin Deez is back. Yay! His third record "Double Down" is out September 18, 2015. Listen to the first single "Kill your Attitude" here:
Fred Abbott - Serious Poke
The newest release of the London based label Lojinx looks - and you can count this as an understatement - very promising! Serious Poke is the debut album from Fred Abbott (lead guitarist and keyboard player from Noah and the Whale). The record will be out July 24, 2015. Listen here:
Brandon Schott - Crayon & Angels
Brandon Schott's lateat record is out soon - a crowd funding campaign has started already:
Brandon says:
"It was in a small two bedroom condo on Louise Street in Glendale, California that the story of Crayons & Angels began. In the healing shadow of a life changing illness I started writing and recording an album called Dandelion. That album featured music that ended up being little meditations, reflecting back on the immediate past of those years.
But there were other songs that started to emerge at the same time. Songs that felt very different, that played through the darkness more like a celebration of spirit. They've been kicking around ever since, waiting for the right record to shine. These are the songs that inform the heart of Crayons & Angels.
If Louise Street is where this album started, Kickstarter is where the record begins a new chapter. And this chapter is all yours.
I'm so proud to be partnering with my dear friend Andrew Curry and our friends at Curry Cuts to bring this record to you. This is without question my most ambitious project to date, an 18 track record of songs that span the stylistic scope of my whole catalog. Working on this project was truly a celebration.
And to get this one fully across the finish line we need YOUR help. Crayons & Angels is yours now. From the bottom of my heart, thank you SO much for all your support, love and friendship."
10.000 Years is a concept album. And it's one of those rare concept albums you won't just pretend to be impressed by its topic and its statements, listen to it once and put it in your shelf - where it will be covered by dust for years.
No, it's one of these records you will play once, be really impressed - and next you'll recognize you have it in constant rotation and reading the lyrics in the booklet very carefully.
And 10.000 Years is also one of the best records of sophisticated pop music you will ever listen to.
The Honeydogs - which were founded about ten years before as a Country Rock band - convince with a musical width across many musical genres, e.g. Retro-Pop, Samba, Blues-Rock, Folk or Oriental - you have to be careful not to get dizzy.
10.000 Years tells two futuristic stories loosely bound together. Topics go from end time wars, genocide to genetic test-tube modification. The fact that these fictitious stories are not so different from what happened in World War II up to current events and evil in our world makes it so deeply immersive.
Adam Levy (founder, songwriter and vocalist of the band) studied the Holocaust for years, was a cultural anthropology major and also a social worker. His research and experiences result in this record.
The big difference of 10.000 Years to other concept records is that every song stands rightly on its own even without the concept and the lyrics. And that is where you should stop reading and start to listen to the record. Do yourself a favor and take the time to listen to it in its entirety:
P.S.: 10.000 Years will get a release on vinyl in June 2015. Stay tuned!
If you'd ask me who is responsible for the biggest surprise or musical impact on me in the recent months it would surely be The Honeydogs.
A lot of people highly recommended them over the last few years - but until a few weeks ago I didn't really look into their musical works. It was such a revelation when I finally did!
The Honeydogs
is a band from Minnesota led by singer-songwriter Adam Levy (vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards) along with
Trent Norton (bass, vocals),
Brian Halverson (guitars, vocals),
Peter J. Sands (piano, keyboards, organ),
Peter Anderson (drums, vocals, percussion) and producer
John Fields.
If you don't know where to start just listen to both of the records below (10.000 Years and Amygdala), or just to the following songs: Damascus Way, Too Close to the Sun, Test Tube Kid, Ms. Ketchup and the Arsonist, 23rd Chromosome, Blues For Castro, Devil's Advocate, Last War Lullaby
To describe the music or genre of The Honeydogs is just an impossible task: From Indie-Pop to Jazz, from Swing to The Beatles influence, from Elivs Costello to Ben Folds. There is absolutely no way to class The Honeydogs in any musical genre!
Maybe a review from Paste Magazine (for 10.000 Years) may help here:
"A brave, important, utterly unprecedented album...as seductive musically as it is conceptually radical."
You'll find musicians at the top of their game with musically and lyrically the best songwriting far and wide.
Discography:
1995 The Honeydogs
1996 Everything, I Bet You
1997 Seen a Ghost
2000 Here's Luck
2001 Island of Misfits
2003 10.000 Years
2006 Amygdala
2008 Can't Feel the Beating
2009 Sunshine Committee
2010 Chasing the Sun: The Best of The Honeydogs
2012 What Comes After
Buy all the music directly from the band (digital, CD) at bandcampHERE.
