Dirty Honey - California Dreamin'

[Gordon Comstock]

New single California Dreamin' is out now. The album comes out April 23

 

 

I thought there was a thread for this band already but I couldn't find it... but I know there's a few other fans on here.

 

Album tracklist:

California Dreamin' (4:18)
The Wire (3:05)
Tied Up (3:32)
Take My Hand (3:05)
Gypsy (4:12)
No Warning (3:07)
The Morning (3:27)
Another Last Time (4:50)
Runtime: 29:36

Edited March 5, 2021 by Gordon Comstock

[ZoSoRose]

It's... okay

I like these guys, they were the last show I saw before the pandemic, but they are missing something for me. Can't place it, I guess so far all of their songs are "fine", but they don't have that "it" factor yet

[SAU3R]

I thought Rolling 7s and When I’m Gone were really good, this one is kinda bland 

Hope the album won’t be disappointing 

[Gordon Comstock]

6 hours ago, ZoSoRose said:

It's... okay

I like these guys, they were the last show I saw before the pandemic, but they are missing something for me. Can't place it, I guess so far all of their songs are "fine", but they don't have that "it" factor yet

 

I kinda get what you mean. I like this single but it's not as good as Fire Away or Rolling 7's. They definitely have the potential to make a great record though, IMO.

[metallex78]

The singer’s voice is annoying, and I can’t get past it, to give the songs a chance. It’s like a put on high pitched wail, that sounds kinda like he’s taking the piss.

And instrumentally it’s a bit meh... 

I guess I appreciate that these guys are trying to be a rock band in 2021, but like some others have said, it’s just missing something. 

[Rovim]

1 hour ago, metallex78 said:

The singer’s voice is annoying, and I can’t get past it, to give the songs a chance. It’s like a put on high pitched wail, that sounds kinda like he’s taking the piss.

And instrumentally it’s a bit meh... 

I guess I appreciate that these guys are trying to be a rock band in 2021, but like some others have said, it’s just missing something. 

they have a nice blend of Aerosmith and AC/DC I'm hearing but Steven Tyler, Bon Scott, and Brian too are/were way more charismatic and with a much more interesting and pleasing to the ear vocal timbre imo.

I think if you're trying to do the retro thing you need to have maybe even more influences in your sound compared to a more original band so it doesn't sound like a copy of something much better plus you need a great singer.

Royal Blood did something interesting with the Led Zeppelin formula using just bass and drums and it's cool that Page actually attended one of their shows.

anyway, I'll reserve judgement until they release their album but his voice is not as annoying as GVF's singer and the band is pretty tight.

[ZoSoRose]

46 minutes ago, Rovim said:

 

Royal Blood did something interesting with the Led Zeppelin formula using just bass and drums and it's cool that Page actually attended one of their shows.

 

Now that is a band with the "it" factor imo. One of my favorites!

[Gordon Comstock]

New single "Tied Up" drops tomorrow.

 

 

[SAU3R]

2 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

New single "Tied Up" drops tomorrow.

 

 

A skeleton with a bandana and a cigarette, don’t know what this reminds me of....

[ZoSoRose]

I will say, go see these guys live when they come back. They were amazing in concert

[Gordon Comstock]

 

[Gordon Comstock]

The new single is good, there's some nice riffs and melodies. So far it seems like the album will be on par with their EP - good but not great.

[F*ck Fear]

I like it. They have better songs for sure but it's a good tune.

[Gordon Comstock]

I've listened to the album a couple times now, and it's a bit underwhelming. It's on pretty much on par with their EP. There's not any 'bad' songs but there's not really any standouts either. I guess No Warning and Gypsy might be the highlights, but there's nothing on here that's better than Fire Away or Rolling 7's...

[ZoSoRose]

1 hour ago, Gordon Comstock said:

I've listened to the album a couple times now, and it's a bit underwhelming. It's on pretty much on par with their EP. There's not any 'bad' songs but there's not really any standouts either. I guess No Warning and Gypsy might be the highlights, but there's nothing on here that's better than Fire Away or Rolling 7's...

Yeah. I'll probably barely ever listen to it again. They have potential and I like them, they are just boring. The last song is good. I actually like the new Greta album more

Edited April 23, 2021 by ZoSoRose

[Underhardy]

Honestly, this and the EP should be one LP. Itd be 14 songs and nonstop Aerosmith inspired rock n roll. It’s basically an Aerosmith LP but is missing the more experimental numbers that Steven and Joe always came up with 

[Gordon Comstock]

4 hours ago, ZoSoRose said:

Yeah. I'll probably barely ever listen to it again. They have potential and I like them, they are just boring. The last song is good. I actually like the new Greta album more

 

It feels like I'm still waiting to hear their best song... like they're right on the edge of making some really good stuff but they keep playing it safe. That said, there's some good stuff on the album. After another listen I think Gypsy, Another Last Time and No Warning are the best songs.

I haven't listened to any of the new GVF songs but I've read that the new album has a different sound. If I didn't like their earlier stuff, should I bother checking out their new album?

[Tom2112]

Just listened to the album and it's a bit of a disappointment really. 

All the songs follow the same sort of chord progressions, it's very one note. A lot of the songs have the same build from verse to chorus. I just can't understand how their producer didn't say "hey guys, you're using that same idea, here, here, here and here... wanna try something a bit different??". 

Ultimately it's just a bit forgettable because it's so fucking safe. When you're standing on the coattails of Aerosmith, GNR, Zeppelin, AC/DC you really need to do it well... and these guys are good players and singers, but they are suffering from some very basic songwriting and a lack of diversity. I can imagine people liking this in the same way they like Airbourne, Greta van fleet "Oh it reminds me of my youth / favourite band". I don't mind retro rock, but it needs to go somewhere unexpected I don't want to hear a new band playing a song that sounds like a B-side from a band I already know snd love. 

The Morning is probably the standout track, obvious choice for a single. At the very least it's a slight change of pace from the rest of the songs.

The EP was very good though. There's nothing on here as solid as Scars IMO.

[C0dith]

On 4/23/2021 at 11:03 PM, Gordon Comstock said:

 

It feels like I'm still waiting to hear their best song... like they're right on the edge of making some really good stuff but they keep playing it safe. That said, there's some good stuff on the album. After another listen I think Gypsy, Another Last Time and No Warning are the best songs.

I haven't listened to any of the new GVF songs but I've read that the new album has a different sound. If I didn't like their earlier stuff, should I bother checking out their new album?

I like Dirty Honey, I am not finding this new album much of anything that has really taken them to any kind of other level (and still prefer the previous cd). With the new GVF album, man it really depends on what you didn't like about them. If you don't like his voice, you probably won't like anything. If you're not a huge fan of the zeppelin style, you might like this more. To me, its more prog, epic sounding (like a bit harder Rush if that makes sense). But with GVF, you either hate them, or think they might be one of the best bands going.

[MaskingApathy]

On 3/8/2021 at 6:07 AM, ZoSoRose said:

Now that is a band with the "it" factor imo. One of my favorites!

Their new record is out this week!

On 3/26/2021 at 9:38 AM, Gordon Comstock said:

The new single is good, there's some nice riffs and melodies. So far it seems like the album will be on par with their EP - good but not great.

 

On 4/23/2021 at 1:00 PM, Gordon Comstock said:

I've listened to the album a couple times now, and it's a bit underwhelming. It's on pretty much on par with their EP. There's not any 'bad' songs but there's not really any standouts either. I guess No Warning and Gypsy might be the highlights, but there's nothing on here that's better than Fire Away or Rolling 7's...

I agree. It's missing a standout song like When I'm Gone. As mentioned above if you combine that EP with this LP then you get a pretty good album. 

 

2 hours ago, Tom2112 said:

Just listened to the album and it's a bit of a disappointment really. 

All the songs follow the same sort of chord progressions, it's very one note. A lot of the songs have the same build from verse to chorus. I just can't understand how their producer didn't say "hey guys, you're using that same idea, here, here, here and here... wanna try something a bit different??". 

Ultimately it's just a bit forgettable because it's so fucking safe. When you're standing on the coattails of Aerosmith, GNR, Zeppelin, AC/DC you really need to do it well... and these guys are good players and singers, but they are suffering from some very basic songwriting and a lack of diversity. I can imagine people liking this in the same way they like Airbourne, Greta van fleet "Oh it reminds me of my youth / favourite band". I don't mind retro rock, but it needs to go somewhere unexpected I don't want to hear a new band playing a song that sounds like a B-side from a band I already know snd love. 

The Morning is probably the standout track, obvious choice for a single. At the very least it's a slight change of pace from the rest of the songs.

The EP was very good though. There's nothing on here as solid as Scars IMO.

I'm feeling the same way now. There's a couple cool moments in some of the songs but it starts to sound all the same about halfway through. I think it should've been a little longer too, like 10-12 songs instead of 8.

[Tom2112]

25 minutes ago, MaskingApathy said:

Their new record is out this week!

 

I agree. It's missing a standout song like When I'm Gone. As mentioned above if you combine that EP with this LP then you get a pretty good album. 

 

I'm feeling the same way now. There's a couple cool moments in some of the songs but it starts to sound all the same about halfway through. I think it should've been a little longer too, like 10-12 songs instead of 8.

Yeah the sequencing didn't do it any favours. I'd probably have put the final 2 tracks as track 3 and 4, kinda give the listener time to forget the sameness of the other songs. 

8 is short, but if this is the best if the batch, probably best they didn't add more it could have got very watered down. 

Not trying to shit on it, because it's fine! But it's like the definition of safe. Like the intro riff of California dreamin' us a great riff, you're pumped thinking of Aerosmith!! Wooton! Then the verse kicks in and you're like this is fine, hope it goes somewhere!! But it doesn't. Great chorus, pity the rest of the song sounds like a million others. 

It's their first album though, there's room to develop and hopefully when album no 2 comes around they take a few chances.

[MaskingApathy]

36 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

Yeah the sequencing didn't do it any favours. I'd probably have put the final 2 tracks as track 3 and 4, kinda give the listener time to forget the sameness of the other songs. 

8 is short, but if this is the best if the batch, probably best they didn't add more it could have got very watered down. 

Not trying to shit on it, because it's fine! But it's like the definition of safe. Like the intro riff of California dreamin' us a great riff, you're pumped thinking of Aerosmith!! Wooton! Then the verse kicks in and you're like this is fine, hope it goes somewhere!! But it doesn't. Great chorus, pity the rest of the song sounds like a million others. 

It's their first album though, there's room to develop and hopefully when album no 2 comes around they take a few chances.

Yeah some of the songs could've used more work. I think the production could've been a lot better too, make it sound more modern and punchy.

[Gordon Comstock]

7 hours ago, MaskingApathy said:

I agree. It's missing a standout song like When I'm Gone. As mentioned above if you combine that EP with this LP then you get a pretty good album.

 

When I'm Gone is one of my least favourite of their songs, but yea, the album doesn't really have a standout. I'm not opposed to shorter albums, 8 songs at around 30 minutes is actually kind of ideal if it's all killer no filler... but this is mostly filler, unfortunately. I still think they have the potential to make a really good album eventually, though.

edit: they're one of those good bands that has suffered from "poor" production... Monster Truck, Foxy Shazam and Radkey are some bands that I've seen who's live energy just wasn't captured on record, and that's kinda what this Dirty Honey album feels like.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Gordon Comstock

[ZoSoRose]

For all the hate Greta gets, at least they have some songwriting progression. They have short riffy songs, longer epicy songs, some ballads thrown in, and mix up the instruments a bit with organ and piano. They are still Zep-lite, but I much prefer their new album to this record. At least they have some interesting song writing going on this go around and don't strictly stick to verse/chorus/verse/bridge/chorus on every single song.

Edited July 19, 2021 by ZoSoRose

[MaskingApathy]

They announced their headlining tour today; I'm going.