Coming To A Coffee Shop Near You Soon
For those of you old enough to have experienced the 80's and more importantly still remember a large chunk of the decade, the name Glenn Gregory may conjure up nostalgic memories of Heaven 17. Fast forward a few years and the blonde headed front man of the band behind hits such as 'Temptation' has turned his hand to a new music venture and having teamed up with Keith Lowndes it appears that the catchy pop beats of his past have been pushed aside in favour of mellow electronica. Make no doubt Honeyroot are all about the ease factor with heavy emphasis on relaxation and as such their second album offering, 'The Sun Will Come' is a step by step manual in how to chill out and unwind making this album a giant leap away from Gregory's Heaven 17 days.
Clearly working on the premise that slow and steady wins the race, 'The Sun Will Come' eases itself out of the starting blocks at almost a snail's pace. Everything is laid back to the point of being close to horizontal as album opener 'Goodbye' delicately breezes by and whilst 'Nobody Loves You (The Way I Do)' breathes some life into the album with the use of vocals, there's still a sense that 'The Sun Will Come' is only for the hardened lover of all things mellow. However perseverance does reap rewards and although initially the album's steady start seems a hindrance, once the rest of the songs start to reveal themselves you discover that each track paints a vivid and lush picture, blissfully draped with emotion and sentiment. Dripping in spine tingling emotion, 'Change Is Gonna Come' is simply intoxicating and undeniably the stand out track as it gently eases its way into your heart, combining raw passion with delicacy beautifully, justly rewarding those who strived through the unhurried and somewhat laborious start.
Having regained stature after a slow start, Honeyroot unfortunately fail to cling to their roots, letting the ambient chilled out electronica slide in favour of some almost dance beats that completely throw the mood. 'People Say' finds the duo dismissing their subtle beats in preference of those more commonly found on a euro disco dance floor, a route 'Every Single Day' seems intent to continue along and one that seems out of context with the rest of the album. Thankfully Lowndes and Gregory do make a quick return to their calming base with 'Waves' once again bringing serenity to the situation and allowing for 'Freeway' to show that even mellow numbers can pack an up tempo beat but by now the damage has been done and only those ardent fans of chill out will be left at this stage.
Although there is no denying Honeyroot's ability to tie lush synths together enticingly with tranquilly unobtrusive beats and soothing melodies, you can not escape the feeling that this may end up being the soundtrack to your morning visit to the local coffee shop and whilst this may not be a bad thing entirely, you may find you start to qesution the effect soothing beats really have on your morning kick start. After all coffee is there jolt you awake, something Honeyroot definitely fails to do.