“A delightful feast of instrumentation”
Fear is a Feeling
Nashville, TN
(Self-released)
This fantastic group from Nashville has released a five-song EP filled with charming material. It’s a delight to savor such a compelling record of sounds, as Honey Locust dazzles listeners beginning with “Fear is a Feeling,” complete with gorgeous male and female lead vocals and a myriad of beautiful instrumentation.
Broad in scope, Honey Locust is a quintet made up of singers Jake Davis and Lizzie Connor, able to record and perform their tunes with viola, banjo, piano, organ, accordion, guitar, ukulele, mandolin, percussion, bass and possibly a few other voices.
The accordion is ever present in “Silver for Cynics,” complementing the lead vocals nicely. The tempo shifts from 4/4 to a waltz smoothly, giving the song dynamics and texture. It seems to have the feel of the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons, as their sounds bring out the best of those influences. They also touch on the Decemberists with their graceful attention to subtle detail, and in the way they present their song structures.
“Softer Someday” is quite the passionate track, with riveting mandolins and ukuleles aiding the vocals and a brooding cello to round things out. Certainly this sneak peek EP presents to America a tapestry of this group’s future potential as a grand scale Nashville chamber ensemble. Delivering these songs in the studio, Honey Locust has recorded a unique gem, using their unlimited talents to bring to life a plethora of sounds in an entertaining and serenading fashion. Brutally honest and conceptually stunning, Fear is a Feeling is a charming record for folk rock fans, and thus should not be missed.
Recorded by Andrew Davis at Seismic Sound
Mastered by Mike Odmark