- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
Artist: Honey Clouds
Album: Fall On The Honey Clouds
Label: Peapod Recordings
Playtime: 53:28 min
Genre: Indie
URL: http://www.myspace.com/honeyclouds
Rip date: 2009-12-03
Street date: 2009-05-19
Size: 86.68 MB
Type: Normal
Quality: 218 kbps / 4410kHz / Joint Stereo
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
Between Ron Harrity's skills as recording engineer, label guru (Peapod
Recordings), and guitarist/sideman, he's racking up an impressive resume (see
the accompanying review of the Isobell record for more details), and the new
Honey Clouds record just adds to the list.
Part of a continuing musical partnership with frontman Trey Hughes that
started with the excellent Harpswell Sound records, Fall on the Honey Clouds
builds on the tease that was 2007's Earl Grey Demos, which wasn't anything
more than it said it was, but still managed to do a good impersonation of a
great album. Seven of those tunes have been carried over here, married with
five new tracks, and everything's been given considerably more spit and
polish.
The results include the terrific guitar tones and songwriting Hughes/Harrity
are known for, along with hints at experimental noise rock, some fine
extended jams, and the general indie aesthetic for which Peapod is starting
to garner national recognition. The rhythm section of Mandy Wheeler on bass
excels with backing vocals in crucial choruses, and Sean Wilkinson displays a
subtle hand on drums.
They've kept two of Earl Grey's strongest tunes, "Branch Is Green" (formerly
"Every Branch Is Green") and "Through the Trees," which are illustrative of
the differences between demo and finished product. "Green" was already an
exercise in contrasts, between the rambling, skronk-filled open/verse and an
ultra-poppy chorus where everyone is "strolling with a blissed-out face." For
Fall, those contrasts have been amplified, with Hughes issuing a
blood-curdling scream by introduction, sweeter backing in chorus from
Wheeler, and the subtle improvement of what was already a cool guitar lick.
"Through the Trees" was already powerfully charming, with a simple
"la-da-da-da" chorus and a devastating central hook, but the new version gets
Hughes at his cleanest, without the weariness that could be amplified by the
Demos. He's free and easy and when "we swirled around and around in the
breeze," you don't feel like he regrets it.
Of the new songs, "Hammock" might offer the newest wrinkle, with a lush organ
sound in the back, and a more vampy sound in general than usual. Like lots of
songs here, there's talk of "basking in the sun" and other outdoor pleasures,
but this tune comes closest to true psychedelia, with a counter-intuitive
slow-down in the chorus.
Often nowadays, people wonder aloud, what's the difference between a demo and
a record anymore? Honey Clouds have shown there's a place for both, for raw
and refined, and have offered a cool window into the process of music making.
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
01. Living Room ( 4:12)
02. Branch is Green ( 5:53)
03. Color Spills In ( 3:56)
04. Milkweed ( 2:28)
05. Clutter ( 5:19)
06. Hammock ( 2:40)
07. Lunch Detour ( 4:58)
08. Through the Trees ( 3:55)
09. Breeze ( 3:45)
10. Made Enough Sense ( 6:26)
11. Pipecleaners ( 3:08)
12. Reception ( 6:48)
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