Track Of The Day: Forever Honey – ‘Singing To Let England Shake’

A bittersweet guitar tune about the uncertainty of not knowing where you stand with someone you’re close to, Brooklyn indie band Forever Honey have shared their latest single ‘Singing To Let England Shake’. Taken from their upcoming EP, Could I Come Here Alone, which is set for release on 30th August, the track is a gentle, hazy lament to the frustrated hours spent wondering what went wrong, and the more hopeful moments that follow these sometimes uncomfortable realisations.

Formed of longtime friends Liv Price, Aida Mekonnen, Steve Vannelli and Jack McLoughlin, Forever Honey have been working on their catchy brand of “sob-rock” over the past few years, in between “filming Trailer Park Boys-esque skits and fostering dogs.” Over the next few months, the band will be sharing tracks from their self-recorded, produced, and engineered new EP, with single ‘Singing To Let England Shake’ being the first offering form the record.

“‘Singing To Let England Shake'” is about feeling profoundly misunderstood by someone important to you, the isolation that comes from this realization, and the desire to feel a lightness again after something so painful,” guitarist Aida Mekonnen explains. “There’s something uniquely frustrating about being misinterpreted, and I think it creates an instant distance between you and the person you used to connect with.” Informed by the band’s own experiences, this single and the tracks that form Could I Come Here Alone will strike a cord with anyone who needs reassurance after a period of loneliness of disconnection.

Listen to ‘Singing To Let England Shake’ below.

Follow Forever Honey on YouTube, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Rita Iovine

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Cheerbleederz – ‘Nail Biters’

With their new track ‘Nail Biters‘, London trio Cheerbleederz have released an anxiety anthem that perfectly captures what it’s like having an internal monologue hell bent on torturing you.

The song feels simply constructed. It’s got a steady rhythm, lively guitar and backing vocals that weave around each other beneath the lead lines. Its complexity creeps in as the track goes on until it echoes the anxiety at its core; whilst the vocals begin softly, the lyrics describe anxiety that persistently nags at you and – while it lingers in the back of your mind as you go about your day – it never goes away. While the lead vocal puts the general pressure into words, the backing vocals reflect the teasing voices behind the scenes that induce the undue stress.

As anxiety finally takes over, the song ramps up into a panic. The lyrics stay the same, but everything gets louder, with the lead vocals becoming sharper and more emotive – you can feel the distress as it all finally becomes overwhelming. The repeated line “no worries if not” as the energy builds really captures the way anxiety makes you feel. It’s desperate to not take up space, not to burden anyone, not to cause any unnecessary problems. It’s insistent that there are no worries when the song as a whole is, in fact, about all-consuming worry.

‘Nail Biters’ encapsulates what anxiety feels like, in a fun way – a way that makes you feel seen. It’s reassuring to know that there are other people out there who overthink, and a gift to know that some of them are so talented that they can boil the awful experience down into a two-and-a-half minute indie-pop banger.

Cheerbleederz are set to release their upcoming debut album, even in jest, this summer via Alcopop! Records.

Kirstie Summers
@Actually Kurt

Photo Credit: Rich Mandell

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Track Of The Day: Honey Joy – ‘Raising Boys’

A band that pulls no punches either in their sound or their subject matter, Honey Joy’s latest track is a heartfelt and heartbreaking exploration of the damage toxic masculinity does to generation after generation of men.

‘Raising Boys‘ sees the innocence and softness in little boys and laments the cold, hard process they grow through as they are raised to fit the shape of masculinity that an inherently problematic society thrusts upon them. It reminisces about “the softest soul, a loving heart” – evoking the ideas of strength and safety, and juxtaposing them against the damaging things boys are taught to internalise as they grow up. The lyrics plead for a resistance, but the way the two vocal lines wind around each other highlights the futility of it in a culture determined to bend you to its will. As one begs “Don’t change yourself for him”, the other is very aware that the “you” in the narrative is already infected by toxic expectations.

The raw passion of the vocals is heightened by the music. Screaming guitars roll over heavy drums that thrust extra layers of emphasis onto the most profound moments of the song. Riffs whip between the throbbing beat and the swells of energy in the vocals.

‘Raising Boys’ begins and ends with the same phrase: “Did he ever tell you that he wasn’t okay?” It introduces the mission statement of the song perfectly. The callback at the end lingers with you, heavy with unspoken questions. It is loaded with the pressure put on men to bottle up their emotions, to never be seen to cry, to not talk about their feelings in public until it has torn them apart from within. It reinforces the power of the song – making not only the message, but also its importance, impossible to miss.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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PREMIERE: ROE – ‘I Dare You’

Embracing the rush of relief that comes with letting go of unexpected or difficult emotions while you’re in transit, Northern Irish songwriter ROE has shared her latest single ‘I Dare You’. Released via The Music Federation, the track is based on ROE’s own experience of being a touring musician and the balancing act of enjoying these precious opportunities, whilst trying not to be overwhelmed with exhaustion.

“‘I Dare You’ is about all the unpredictable emotions that show up when spending days on end together on the road as musicians,” ROE elaborates on her new single. “It’s an incredibly testing side of this industry that fans don’t get to see. The frustration and tears and uncontrollable laughter. Some days it’s such a joy and other days all you want is to be back in your own bed. It’s always worth it but it’s not always easy. The inevitable drives between shows and home are so ridiculous and difficult and new every time. Staying awake so nobody drives alone and the inescapable stop at the closest McD’s are constant but so much happens in that space.”

Underscored by driving beats, observational lyrics and her clear vocals, ROE’s new single is a snapshot of joyful unrest, which builds to an anthemic chorus full of trumpet fanfares. With ‘I Dare You’, ROE has crafted her own brand of “existential indie-pop,” finding catharsis in surrendering to the pressures of life in its more testing moments, and celebrating it in all its raw, unfiltered glory.

ROE will be performing live tonight (31st) at the Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast.

Listen to ‘I Dare You’ below.

 

Follow ROE on Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Megan Doherty 

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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