ALBUM REVIEW: Retrovision – Honey Revenge
Destiny is a marmite subject. There are people who believe in it wholeheartedly, and those who dismiss it. However, there are times where even the sceptics have to believe in destiny a bit. Devin Papadol had just started touring the local music scene in Los Angeles when the pandemic put a halt to her dreams. Scrolling through social media feeds as the world turned upside down, Papadol saw a message on Instagram from Donovan Llyod, a guitarist who had recently relocated to LA from Georgia. And thus HONEY REVENGE were born.
United in their love for all things music, due to growing up on a diet of everything from Disney rock to R&B to Warped Tour, HONEY REVENGE‘s debut album Retrovision is a riot of music that is as bright and colourful as the album cover. Airhead opens the record with a groovy pop-rock song with an infectious guitar riff. The catchy chorus is as infectious as the flu, and you’ll find yourself singing along by the end. Whilst the song does fall slightly into a cliché with its gang vocal shouts of “Hey!” after the chorus, it’s still a fun and catchy way to start the record.
Whilst there are some missteps throughout the album, it does generally run smoothly. Seeing Negative (Disappointment) continues the pop-rock sound, albeit while leaning more into the rock side of things, with some synths thrown in for good measure. The production of the album means that this does not sound jarring. In fact, synths are a recurring element on the record. For example, the synths that are introduced in Favourite Song mean that when they are heavily used in Rerun, they do not sound like they came out of nowhere. On the other hand, Rerun also starts off a little slow, and therefore this does slow the pacing down. Whilst it does pick up the pace from the chorus onwards, the slow opening verse is rather jarring, especially after Habitual, which is a fun and fast-paced pop-rock song.
Having said that, Habitual is a bit of a loose cannon. Is it fun? Yes. But the issue is it sounds a little surface level because it doesn’t really change its tune throughout the song. Furthermore, despite the relatively short runtime of two minutes and 45 seconds, the track seems to drag on for a lot longer. On the other hand, this is the band’s debut album, so there is still plenty of time to figure things out.
The rest of the album thankfully improves, whether that is the funky rock of Fight Or Flight or the laid-back synth rock of Scapegoat. However, the last two songs – Worst Apology and Distracted – are the highlights. Worst Apology is a rock-infused song that is an ode to not caring about people who waste your time. It has a swagger to it that makes it a really fun and empowering listen. Distracted is an interesting closing song. It stars off with electronic vocal distortion before becoming a mellow and mid-tempo song. The chorus hits with full force, but it never reaches the heights of the opening song. But this isn’t a bad thing; it sounds like a natural progression from the start to the end. It is a daring conclusion, and one that feels well earned.
Overall, despite a few missteps, HONEY REVENGE‘s debut album is one of the better ones. Retrovision is a fun, bright and feisty debut album that has everything from pop to rock to synths. This is clearly a passion project for the duo, and the energy that is encapsulated in this album makes that clear. It isn’t perfect, as a few songs don’t quite hit the mark and the pacing can sometimes be off, but this is still just the debut, and therefore there is plenty of time to improve. Either way, judging by this album, HONEY REVENGE are well on their way to becoming a household name in the pop-rock scene.
Rating: 8/10
Retrovision is set for release on June 23rd via Thriller Records.
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