The Honey Month
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The Honey Month

Margate, Queensland, Australia

Margate, Queensland, Australia
Band Folk

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"The Honey Month Foliage Review"

One of the best things about music festivals is just how much of an eye and ear opener they are towards great artists and bands, exposing you to sights and sounds that may have otherwise never entered our consciousness. One such experience for me was on the second day of Splendor In The Grass, when, on the way to the Main Stage, I stopped of the see The Honey Month, a young Brisbane band, kicking off proceedings for the day, with their unconventional blending of electro folk.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t stay for the whole set, though I was immediately impressed with the organic nature of their sound, and that is why I’m excited now about their debut EP release, Foliage. Recorded earlier this year at Brisbane’s, The Ark studios, with producer and Yves Klein Blue’s bass player, Sean Cook, Foliage is a 5 track sampler of the sonical progression of the band over the last two years.

Eclectic. This word has been used a lot to describe the sounds of the Honey Month, and rightly so, for whether it’s the wall of keyboard synth in the title track, Foliage or the more grand indie folk elements of The Owl (these being the choric nature of the vocals, teemed with the distinct twang of the ukulele and the general underlying sense stomping and crashing that results in that big dancehall vibe) the wide and varied source of sounds all come together to form a joyous, original expression of sound.

Paper Lips and Mother Mercy offer up another couple of tastes of the harmonic union of vocals between the band members, and the unconventional collection of instruments they use, which include a piano accordion (a Sesame Street one), melodica, musical saw, kalimba, mandolin, double bass and ukulele.

Foliage has been receiving a lot of airplay on certain national youth radio services, but my stand out tracks on this EP would be The Owl and Mother Mercy, for all the reasons mentioned above and also because of the fact that they’re just great moments of indie folk-rock.

I see big things on the horizon for this up-and-coming band, if this EP is anything to go by, as it is an impressive debut from some very talented multi-instrumentalists. - The Dwarf


"The Honey Month Foliage EP Review"

This Brisbane five-piece stands out for unusual instrumentation, peppering their songs with everything from accordion

and organ to musical saw and mandolin. Foliage is attention grabbing with its opening organ strains, twinkly keys, grungy

vocals and a driving beat that wouldn’t be out of place on a sitcom soundtrack. The Owl has a similar urban style beat

and subtle keys, but feels a little flat between the intro and the haunting final strains. Cold Light is slow-paced and eerie

with strong vocals that feature plenty of woahs. Mother Mercy starts off more conventionally with laidback acoustic guitar,

segueing into a melancholy lament. Paper Lips features an accordion intro, which gives it a bit of a gypsy feel, and

several tempo changes make it sound unique. People Of The Lake also starts off with accordions, launching into layered

instrumentation with furious energy. With instrumentation as diverse as this, The Honey Month have a sound to turn

heads.
- Rave Magazine


"The Honey Month Foliage EP"

A love for obscurity and the obscure has become a musical mission for the boys from The Honey Month. Whilst incorporating many elements found in conventional music, the boys have dubbed and doused their newest release with sounds and instruments often avoided and neglected by musicians. All this makes for a very interesting listen; and when combined with the crafty complexity of the lyrics, The Honey Month create vibes I would recommend to anyone needing a hit of ‘pure sound’.

The Honey Month has just released their new EP – Foliage, from which (the song) ‘Foliage’ was rated iTunes ‘Single of the Week’. The Brisbane boys were also selected by JJJ to rep QLD at the Perth festival ‘One Movement’ – they are definitely climbing the ladder, and a band you should all be well aware of.

The EP brands vibrant layers, a steady beat, constant flare and a juicy rhythm – with a solid hit of melancholy. Over the past week, The Honey Month has made great driving music – I’ve received some fairly weird looks from people at the lights as they peer into my side window at me blasting out the lyrics to ‘The Owl’.

Sometimes when I review an album or an EP, certain aspects of it may stand out to me as being very ‘Jeff Buckley’ or ‘The Ramones’ etc – always comparing to things I’ve heard before. I can honestly say that The Honey Month have created something new with this EP – I think that it is safe to say that they have established their own sound.

Whilst this is ‘all good’, I found that after a couple of rotations of the EP I was reaching for my iPod again… The Honey Month have definitely created something new for themselves, - total respect, however I found that after a while it became a little tedious to listen to. On whole, the EP has a ‘dark’ sound about it that is present on every track and that made it a bit ‘same-ish’ to listen to over and over. They could do well with chucking a ‘happier’ song into the mix.

The Honey Month is a great band and has created an EP that is honest, creative and full of flavour. It’s different to a lot of music around these days, but it was a little too ‘melancholic’ for my taste.

Review Score: 6/10. - The AU Review


"The Honey Month EP"

No strangers to wide spread radio play, Brisbane’s The Honey Month debut their brand of rollicking folk-rock with a self-titled EP.

It’s a great time to be reviewing records by Brisbane bands if you want to engage in hyperbolic praise. After all, the most successful Brisbane act of this generation have just called it wraps, making it a fantastic time to herald a new act from the Sunshine State’s capital as successors to Powderfinger’s throne. As for Brisbane’s The Honey Month…well, they sound absolutely nothing like Powderfinger…but they’re fucking good nonetheless.

From the opening organ progression of minor hit Foliage to the brass-backed finishing romp of Paper Lips, The Honey Month have succeeded in creating an EP that boldly marks their place as a band worth due consideration. In fact, it’s these two tracks which send the strongest message. Foliage is catchy-as-fuck, just a primed for indie-club audiences in Melbourne as it would be amongst the seated world music throngs of Womadelaide while the accordion driven gypsy undertones of Paper Lips rolls to an incredibly pleasant conclusion. Alongside these clear highlights, there’s just as much going on between the bookends. The Owl battles fiercely strummed ukulele and tinkered toy piano against a pulsing drum beat and the deep moans of choral vocals and sustained organ notes. Meanwhile, Cold Light’s soaring affair sits in opposition to Mother Mercy, an assurance of their ability to piece together softer spoken balladry.

In this EP, The Honey Month have crafted an impressive debut that places them firmly in the company of acts like The Middle East and Jinja Safari as Australia’s new contingent of multi-instrumentalist folk-inspired youths. There’s plenty to get excited about here and their sound - somewhat reminiscent of New York's Beirut - is as attractive and interesting as anything you’re likely to hear debut in this country for the rest of the year. - Soulshine


Discography

Foliage EP- 'Foliage' and 'The Owl' have both received airplay on Triple J.

Photos

Bio

Their collaboration dates back to seven years ago, when two eleven year old boys with a keyboard, a tape recorder and an affection for punk recorded their first song over the top of a dusty Tom Petty cassette.

After acquiring a set of drums and an electric guitar, a three piece band was formed, playing together until early 2008, when a strange transition fuelled by a mutual love of eclectic music occurred. This is where The Honey Month begun. The band, based in Brisbane, now consists of Thomas, Liam, David, Jonathan, and Hamish.

An obsession with unconventional instruments saw the boys acquiring a piano accordion, melodica, musical saw, kalimba, mandolin, double bass and ukulele to become intrinsic parts of their ever expanding collective sound. Dedication to their music has seen The Honey Month not sleeping until they are learnt with competence.

Crafting unique songs which portray a musical freedom uncommon with their peers, The Honey Month create haunting lyrical themes of mortality and betrayal which sit comfortably with the elements whilst threatening a grand conclusion.