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by Mike SkrzynskiThe Honeyrods currently bask in the glow of mainstream alternative music on their new self-titled album, which, at the very least, promises to please most listeners with hearty yet light and spirited tunes.
For the moment, they're being played on MTV… a lot. Their single Love Bee is on heavy rotation on both the main network and MTV2. This poses a serious challenge for them considering that in today's music scene they have a lot of competition and heavy rotation causes burnout. Yet they shrug off the "newbie" label with a solid sound and add some personality to what might be looked upon as just another newcomer doing their thing and then going just as fast as they came.
It wouldn't be right to say that the Honeyrods are the best thing to come around in a while, nor do they try to top the charts (which they might). However, they are a good band that's rightfully taking a swallow from that huge stardom feeding trough, for as long as it lasts.
Musically, the Honeyrods pull from other sources who made it big with their breakthrough albums such as Blind Melon, Dish Walla and Fountains of Wayne. There's lots of rhyme and that particular alternative sound that you just can't quite define in words except by defining it in terms of other bands.
The easiest way to put it is that the Honeyrods reek of an alternative sound. It flows out of their pores just as easily as Kool-aid through a sieve. It is basically rock with some grass-roots flavor, but it has the distinct wails and simple riffs of modern music. The Honeyrods formula is similar: just flow with it. If there were any lumps in their music they've mostly stirred them back into the mix for the finished, easy-to drink, product.
Again, I stress that the Honeyrods do not attempt to take the music to the limit. Rather, their strength is in their consistency. Throughout the whole album, their sound does not falter. This makes it easy to listen to and do something else at the same time, such as write, paint, or chop lettuce. Their lyrics are not extremely in-depth, but they are worth listening to at least once. After that, the lyrics slip into the music so that everything becomes fluid.
Of course, there are the stand-out songs, such as their single "Love Bee." You might visualize the little girl in the bee costume in Blind Melon's "No Rain" video (unless you've seen the Honeyrods video), but the vision leaves when you hear "Her Majesty's Secret Service." This one may or may not become a single, but it is a cool song for two reasons.
First, the subject comes from a James Bond novel title and deals with that fantasy world. Second, the chorus of the song is both well done and its meaning is insightful. A spy's life summed up in the words "take a chance/put your life in your hands/ But you can't believe in luck/cause you're already dead."
There are no guarantees of how long the Honeyrods will be around, but they have produced one good album which will stay on the MTV rotation probably for another three to four weeks. After that, their fifteen minutes of fame might be up. In the meantime, they get three and one half stars.
