With the release of their second album, Lost On You, Sub*Lime recording artists Honey present a work of incredible depth, emotion and maturity. While listeners may notice occasional musical references to the sounds of modern rock artists like The Verve, Radiohead and U2, and dreamier euro-pop influences from more obscure bands like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, and Pale Saints, Honey’s sound is uniquely their own. Lost On You features a complex, multi-layered sound with swirling, chiming guitars over dense, melodic, atmospheric sonic backdrops.
Honey is Doug Moss, guitar and vocals; Bill Dow, lead guitar; Aaron Hazlett, bass; and Roger Moss, drums. The band members all live in and around the Chicago, Illinois area. Honey was formed in 1995 when guitarist Dow joined the Moss brothers and then-bassist Paul Lagestee, who had performed together under other band names. Common influences and similar personal philosophies made the union a natural fit. The current Honey lineup was solidified recently with the addition of Hazlett on bass.
Soon after forming, the band self-financed recording of an independent album at Neverland Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Steve Hindalong and engineer Chris Colbert (The Violet Burning, The Prayer Chain). After hearing the results of these recording sessions, Sub*Lime offered Honey a recording deal on their newly formed label.
The debut album, Lovely, provided a glimpse of the band’s signature ethereal sound, but Honey was an infant band when the album was recorded. In retrospect the band saw room for improvement. “The first album is like looking at a junior high school picture of yourself and cringing,” Dow says of Lovely. “Those songs were some of the first we had written together. We had a tendency to fall back on an easy formula where songs were these sad, ‘alterna-whatever’ tunes. We wanted the songs on the new one to be upbeat and happy - upbeat, but not fast. We aren’t into the catchy, quick numbers. We really like the slow song.”
The months that have passed since the debut release have allowed Honey to grow together as songwriters. “Lost On You is definitely a more mature album,” says vocalist/guitarist Doug Moss. “We recorded the first album very quickly, literally living in the studio during the process. Thanks to Sub*Lime’s support, we were able to spend significantly more time on Lost On You. I think the patience and care taken with this record shows in the final product.”
Honey is an introspective band that is constantly examining and challenging methods in both the songwriting and the production process. For the songs that would make up Lost On You, the band enlisted the production team of Eric Campuzano and Wayne Everett. Campuzano and Everett were both members of the early/mid-nineties band The Prayer Chain, and are currently involved in a project called The Lassie Foundation. But, more importantly for Honey, the two are part of a small Southern California contingent of innovative, up-and-coming studio wizards who are quickly gaining an excellent reputation for their work with guitar-oriented bands and lush vocal production.
“It was both comfortable and challenging,” Doug says of recording with his long-time friends Campuzano and Everett. “It was comfortable in a personal sense because they are our friends. There was a lot of laughter and having fun. Yet, they didn’t allow us to settle for anything. They challenged our thinking on a lot of things, which is what we wanted.”
A demo recorded with Campuzano/Everett led to the involvement of Dan Haseltine and Steve Mason from Jars of Clay. “We performed at a show with Jars of Clay last summer. It was our first contact with them,” explains Doug of the Jars of Clay connection. “The crowd really received us well. As we were walking off the stage, some of the Jars guys complimented our set. We didn’t think anything of it. Subsequent to that show, a demo we had recorded with Wayne and Eric got passed along through our record company to Dan [Haseltine] and Steve [Mason]. They heard it, loved it and wanted to be involved.” As a result, Haseltine and Mason co-produced the songs “I Am” and the title track on Lost On You.
Each song on Lost On You reflects the band’s desire to convey more than the mere sum of the song’s parts. From the beautiful, haunting “When You Stay,” to the dreamy “Lost On You,” to the poppy strains of “I Am,” the band creates a texturally rich soundscape of emotion and passion. Themes of love are ever present in Honey’s lyrics. Not the brooding, angst-ridden love that seems so fashionable these days, but a joyful, peaceful, hopeful kind of love on both a human and a spiritual level.
Honey is that rare band that transcends the formulaic trappings of “modern rock” and creates true art. Higher praise cannot be given to any group of musicians.
Discography
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