RELEASED 9TH JULY 2020

Favourite track: can’t bear to be without you

This album’s got that classic English Rock/Pop sound with some electronic synths but the lyrics and message are what really counts.

HONNE is an English Electronic-Pop duo and whilst I hadn’t heard of them, I saw that they released their album no song without you on Spotify. The album consists of 14 tracks and cover art that depicts what I believe it a city at night with buildings lit up but in the style of an abstract painting. It was enough to make me curious enough to give them a listen.

The first track ‘dear P’ opens with almost a muffled audio, buzzing and then soft guitar. It has the sound of the outside and a pen scribbling in the background of this song as he sings softly about how the subject “saves” him. It then moves into the next track ‘no song without you’ as a rock kit beat comes in with some muted synth keys and guitar. It’s very romantic, upbeat and cute. ‘free love’ opens with a stronger beat and then repetitive, faster synth background. It then becomes another cute, upbeat, very English rock style song. It would work incredibly well in a coming-of-age or RomCom movie. ‘ilovemorethanicansay’ opens with an audio with a Hip-Hop style beat muted in the background guitar. It’s a very short song about how he love the person but doesn’t “like them much these days”. The next song ‘by my side’ is more melancholic as it opens with soft piano and slow singing. It then suddenly changes into more of a soul song and then becomes a acoustic, jazzy pop song.

‘la la la that’s how it goes’ opens with synth keys and then an upbeat melody and more typical rock kit. The chorus is very Pop and it works nicely with the layered vocals. The lyrics are consistently focused on the subject’s presence and absence for the singer. It’s meaningful and sweet. ‘one way to tokyo’ opens with a distorted style vocal piece that gives it some variety and edge which makes for an interesting shift. ‘can’t bear to be without you’ opens with more audio and a muted drum in the background. We then have the melody played via a clearer electronic synth. It’s got this spacey feel to it which works. The next track ‘loving you is so easy’ has this upbeat rhythm and instrumental with magical chime sounds and guitar. It’s another song perfect for those kind of films as it’s got that English Pop/Rock feel going on.

‘s o c i a l d i s t a n c i n g’ (yes it’s typed like that) is very much about quarantine and how he needs a lover (?) to “stay the hell away from me”. It’s got a sad, more soulful tone to it but ends with a spacey vibe. The next song opens with more space FX and a bass as he talks about when “there’s no end in sight” and “losing” in ‘lines on our faces’ until the chorus which is more of that Rock/Pop style. It goes from negative to positive as he says “it will get better”. ‘gone gone gone’ is another sad one but I like the guitar melody and the muted synth one too. It’s a song that carries through but has elements of more chaotic sound and then quieter – reflective of emotions maybe? ‘our love with never die’ is such a pretty song. It’s got muted piano and that kind of audio from the opening track. The final track is a reflective piece ‘smile more smile more smile more’ about what you can do, how you can act, how to be better, more sociable, not taking things for granted.  

I would play this album in the background on a rooftop in summer.