Critic's evaluation
Just over two years after the release of their self-titled debut album, Californian quartet Dirty Honey are back in the studio to announce a new chapter in their discography. Entitled Can't Find The Brakes, the material represents the band's second studio album and the first to feature a new line-up.
John Notto's guitar, without delay, offers a softness that is fresh and transcendental in its maximum lightness, while Marc Labelle offers the same level of delicacy with his initially serene and sweet vocals. Between melismas that communicate an immersion in the fields of soul and R&B, the song ends up flowing into a more sensual atmosphere with the entry of Jaydon Bean's drums in their 4x4 drive and Justin Smolian's precise and slightly trotting bass, which offers a great reference to the way Cliff Williams designed the rhythmic bases of AC/DC songs. Even so, it's Notto who's responsible for the track's provocatively sexy content, based on phrases whose melody is similar to that of Billy Gibbson in Sharp Dressed Man, a ZZ Top single. With this landscape, now a mix of hard rock and blues rock, Don't Put Out The Fire tells the story of a character trying to deal with the grief of the end of a relationship and the pain of rejection. Amid strong guilt for not having seen the imminent end approaching, he now assumes that he is orphaned by passion, but confesses, as well as hoping for a reconciliation, that the woman he gave himself up to has addicted him to desire through the ardency of libido. Meanwhile, the melody sweats through the heat of their bodies and evolves into a provocative and irresistible tune.
Fresh and gradually energetic, like a sun of vivid luminosity rising behind the arid mountains on the outskirts of Los Angeles, the song reaches its introductory peak with a sexy, swinging essence and hints of provocative filth. Electric and cheeky, Won't Take Me Alive represents a disharmonious and unhealthy relationship in which one of the parties uses the intention of making the other suffer, of manipulating them to their sarcastic liking.That's why, for the protagonist, freedom is the best remedy against the mental illness of that irrational thirst for revenge.
Sexy and provocative like a pole dancer, she is sultry and ardently attractive in her hard rock that is reminiscent of the melodic aesthetic created by Slash in his career alongside Myles Kennedy. Cheerful, Dirty Mind has a bubbly, harmonic chorus that reinforces the narrative about a bon vivant man who is worth his own company, but finds himself prepared for his journey to the other side of life. Assuming himself to be self-confident, as well as having acceptable actions, the character highlights the fact that he has a perverted mind and a penchant for making others disappointed, which makes him aware that, at any moment, morality could get him killed as a bargaining chip.
It is born with a kind of sweetly melancholic freshness.Between dramatic outbursts that make the melody create an aesthetic similarity to the one developed by Greta Van Fleet, the track has a distinctive bass power based on a blues of suffering sentimentality.Growing with a sound that conveys hope like a soothing sunset on the beach horizon after a storm, Roam also features the insertion of the hammond, creating an amplified notion of sadness with its acidic sweetness in the sound aisle. Roam follows the rhythm of the previous songs and presents the listener with yet another story based on relationships.Here, however, there is guilt and anger.There is longing and a love with no plausible explanation for its existence. It's a song about long-distance love and the way it can transform a couple's relationship, amplifying nostalgia and creating wounds in a heart saddened by the lack of companionship.
Coming out of the torpor, drama and suffering, the new atmosphere is soft, sexy and sunny at the same time. Between the sonar guitar rippling through the lap steel and a setting capable of mixing beach and metropolis, Get A Little High is adorned by an infectious chorus in its curiously controlled explosion. Based on the typical hard rock of Dirty Honey, the song shows the way an individual has found to deal with rejection and the end of a relationship.Sadness, disbelief, nostalgia and the blatant need to turn the page make the character seek numbness in order to stop, even for a few moments, the pain of a broken heart.
It is sweet, serene and gentle. With its cozy bucolic aromas, the song is born just like watching the sun rise over the pasture and making the scent of the flowers rise, motivated by the union of the dew and the warmth of the morning. Relying solely on the delicate harmony between voice and guitar, Coming Home (Ballad Of The Shire) is a folk song that tells the story of an individual who, after venturing out into the world and searching for his place, realizes that the point that gives him a deep sense of belonging is that of his origin, his home.The song even represents the meeting of two people who have always loved each other, but because of insecurity preferred to let go. Now, more mature, they accept facing their fears in order to get back together as they never should have been.
It's as sexy and provocative as a walk down a Sunset Strip at the height of the 80s. With the bass and guitar in perfect libidinous harmony, it's up to the drums to tantalize the listener with the cynical tinkling of the cymbals and the sequential crashes of the kick drum. Bringing melodic references and influences from Guns and Roses in their Appetite For Destruction phase, the song soon shows its explosive, sexy and solar impetus. Contagious and provocative, the title track tells the story of a woman so intense that she becomes reckless with her life. Selling the image of an imposing, self-confident and empowered person, the song actually shows that this is a shield for a tortuous past. Even so, the existence of a bohemian life is undeniable, and curiously attractive in its self-destructive irresponsibility.
It's not deliberate, but the way the drums draw out the introductory phrases reminds the listener of Larry Mullen Jr.'s intro to Sunday Bloody Sunday, a U2 single. This resemblance is lost seconds later, when the melody enters an explosive setting, with a good, strong bass line and a dirty hard rock guitar. Groovy, catchy and attractive, Satisfied is, like Don't Put Out The Fire, another chapter in which the character hasn't realized the strain of the relationship and has therefore sunk into guilt. Here, however, there is the added thought of whether what existed was really love or just easily disposable fun, leaving the protagonist in even more pain. Curiously, Satisfied also has a chorus whose harmonic crescendo drinks from the same source used in the climax of When I'm Gone, the quartet's own single.
Cynical, provocative, fiery and self-sufficient. The new song is a hard rock song with a folky base and the subtle tinkling of the tambourine helping with the rhythmic beat. Short but no less sexy, Ride On is a work in which the character remains focused on overcoming so as not to be hit again by the memories of a past capable of causing him pain. Ride On is about conscience speaking up and showing that there is no future for the relationship, suggesting that both parties follow their own paths.
A new foot on the brake. Warm, delicate and with a soothing sense of protection, the new song is born with a generous, polite and gentle softness with the help of the velvet of the fender rhodes also contributing to the melody. Like a friendly embrace, a mother's breast ready to receive the tears of a suffering child, You Make It All Right features LaBelle experimenting with new vocal textures with well-executed falsetto, while the song grows in its melancholy tenor. It tells the story of a character bathed in remorse, trapped in feelings that lead him to the abyssal environment of emotions, and the support he needs to climb back up and see the sun again. And that's where the romance lies. After all, the protagonist assumes that, when in the presence of the one he loves, everything will be fine.
The acidic noise of the distortion fouls the atmosphere while the guitar echoes subtle high-pitched tinkles that are reminiscent, even subtly, of the same thing Stone Gossard did in the introduction to Jeremy, a Pearl Jam single. As the song develops, a curiously nauseating beat takes over the atmosphere, but without detracting from the listener's receptiveness, who finds himself captured by the striking groove of the bass. With its simple choruses but explosive instrumentation, Rebel Son is the story of a character ruled by an intense sense of independence, freedom and nonconformity with the routine bias of wage earners. Due to his vast, vivacious energy, the protagonist is a perfect match for the main character of the title track, although at one point he finds himself captured by love and on the verge of missing the infinitude of the horizon.
Back on the circuit, Dirty Honey have presented Can't Find The Brakes, a compilation of songs that works like a rollercoaster of intense emotions involving love. From maximum libido to the melancholy of rejection, the Californian quartet's new album has a more mature, concise and even powerful sound.
There was certainly no loss of melodic essence, as the material once again brought the folk-based hard rock that made the group's name back in 2018 with Fire Away, the debut single. Even so, the new album showed greater experimentation with textures, offering tracks that leaned towards subgenres such as blues rock and genres like soul and R&B.
Much of this is down to Bean's contribution on the drums. Delivering more freshness, but also combining precision and subtlety, he was able to leave the material with an even more provocative base than that offered between the songs on the debut album. This meant that the new material, despite still relying on repetitive melodic verses, was more striking to the ears and more clearly exuded the influence of names like AC/DC in the construction of the melodies.
Producer Nick DiDia was another important name in the maturing of Dirty Honey. After all, with him there was more experimentation with falsetto vocals, as well as new textures from the hammond, fender rhodes and tambourine. A deeper understanding of blues and folk, genres that were easily perceptible due to the well-equalized sound, was another point of growth for the group on Can't Find The Brakes.
Released on 11/03/2023 via Dirt Records, Can't Find The Brakes presents a labyrinth of amorous emotions narrated under precise, striking and melodic sounds. From the material, you can clearly see that Dirty Honey has matured, both in terms of rhythmic compositions and as a band. It's a product that exudes freshness and sensuality right up to its last sound.
