The Honeyriders are a four-piece band from Fremantle, WA, who play cruisy, acoustic-based, soulful (slightly country-ish) pop and have sent us a ten track demo of what looks like a completed album. They are fronted by two women, one of whom takes the lion's share of the vocals with her beautiful croon - it's such a strong voice that will have you believe she is living through the heartache and subject matter of the songs. She sounds tough, too: "these goddamn wine bars, these goddamn jazz chords" in 'God Dam'. There is a wonderful lead slide guitar on 'Caroline Song' and unique drumming pattern on 'Dreamer' which has the two female voices complementing each other beautifully. The song fades out leaving you wanting more. thehoneyriders
The first four songs have the same tempo and it's on the fifth song 'Miles Away' that there is a noticeable tempo (faster) and style change (more pop). This is our pick of all the songs and it sounds like the other singer taking the lead here. For these ears, she has a more inviting, slightly-fragile pop voice that is less professional-sounding (less confident may be a better term) than the main vocalist. The song has a great start with a keyboard making an appearance, a memorable verse and two hooks to get you in - both the "miles away" and "come back home" parts. On the demo, the band have made notes which songs may be possible singles. This isn't one of them...and it should be! It's the song that put pushed this demo over the edge and made into Demo Of The Week. We also liked 'Edge Of Breaking', another uptempo song which features a fuzzy guitar and the singer with the more fragile voice. The handclaps at the end are a sweet touch too. 'Highway' has the vocal interplay between the two female singers and is a great thing - breaks up the 'sameness' (not that it's a bad thing) of the majority of the songs. I expect we'll be hearing more of The Honeyriders. -SH
contact: thehoneyriders@yahoo.com
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