Benjamin Hacking
Returning with what is their second album in Loving and Losing, the fearsome duo’s nearing approach is one quite dissimilar to that which they had for their debut. Coming from a writing process during a time before anyone had any Honey Revenge tours in their diaries to now attempting to one-up their breakout album – Honey Revenge face a completely different level of exposure and challenge due to their successes in recent years.
The added pressure of these new difficulties has not been lost on the duo as they have openly discussed the panic and stresses that came early on in the creation of this new record. Requiring a step back, the duo looked into the music of the early 2000s in an attempt to bring fun back into the music and fire to the flickering passion of creativity.
This can be seen clearly throughout the album as every track oozes with the swagger and playfulness that was so typical of 00’s party music. Loving and Losing is packed full of a bounce that is inherently impossible to not jump along to. With incredibly punchy drum tracks, groovy bass lines and a production quality that can only be referred to as immaculate, the entire album is such a fun listen.
Honey Revenge make wonderful use of space in their tracks, especially in the hook infused choruses of this album – so many of these new tracks aren’t afraid to let phrases sit with space around them. This both adds to that Y2K sound that we are coming to connect with Honey Revenge, as well as leaning into the danceability of this whole record.
There are times when Loving and Losing can start to feel slightly ‘samey’ due to the extremely polished feel of this album and the nature of their electronically infused Y2K sound. This, combined with an album that could possibly feel formulaic in terms of each track, could affect repeat listens, but this is by no means a big issue and one that definitely comes down to individual listeners’ personal tastes.
With this in mind, some of the best moments in this album are when it chooses to take a breather and change it up momentarily. When Honey Revenge turn their talents to a more poignant and softer approach, they show their skills as songwriters – yes, they excel at their ‘typical’ high octane jump-around sound, but by no means are they limited to it.
Overall this album is definitely a massively fun listen, and due to the nature of the sound – this will only be elevated in a live setting, Loving and Losing is an open invite to party with this dynamic duo, and from the sounds of it, it’s not a party you’ll want to miss.
