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CD REVIEW: Honey Tongue offers sweet alternative
By: Josh Studor - U-WIRE
August 27th 2002 9:19pm
(U-WIRE) MOSCOW, Idaho -- Not unlike other big-name Seattle rock bands, Honey Tongue is quality. Their music is fun, insightful and loud. But unlike Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Nirvana, Honey Tongue breaks the mold by featuring a woman on lead vocals. It's rare to find a quality female rock musician. Courtney Love and her band Hole is just about the only true rock band to release more than one single that does well (not that it matters, now that Hole is no more). The rest of the women's music world consists of jaded and angry solo artists like Alanis Morrisette and Tori Amos, over-produced hip-hop like J.Lo. and Destiny's Child and the empty bubble-gum pop like Britney Spears and Pink. When Honey Tongue returned to Moscow, Idaho, Saturday for it's sixth time to perform at Palousafest, it became apparent that lead singer Jen Ayers is not Tori or Britney or, thank god, Courtney Love. Honey Tongue is a fresh new attempt at bringing women into rock. It is an indie band that was recently named Touring Band of the Year at the Seattle Area Music Awards. It is putting out its first full-length LP next month. But most of all, Honey Tongue is a Pearl Jam clone, with a female voice. Like Pearl Jam, Honey Tongue is from Seattle and has a sound reminiscent of the grunge era of the early '90s. Its songs attempt to comment in one way or another about social issues. It has started out touring and getting an audience based solely on word-of-mouth. Brett Eliason, one of Pearl Jam's producers, is even producing Honey Tongue's new album. But it is different. Unlike Pearl Jam, Ayers is fun to watch. She doesn't just scream into a microphone and rage on a guitar. Instead, she actually sings her lyrics so the audience can hear them. The petite, blonde Leo flirts with the crowd with a gorgeous smile and "get over here" eyes, which is far more engaging than Eddie Vedder, who doesn't really even look at the crowd. Her music is more soulful and her voice is more clear than Vedder's. It's more melodic and rich. Honey Tongue even sounds more polished than Pearl Jam's "Ten," and a lot of other bands, for that matter. At the concert the music was clear and on. The vocals were sharp and lyrics poignant. Even their four-track promotional single, which sold for $6 next to the stage, sounded more like a studio album than an indie single. This band has everything it takes to make it big. At the two sets at Palousafest last week and performance at John's Alley Friday night, the most impressive part were the lyrics. Songs like "Senator" touch on social issues with lyrics like "T.V. stares and souls that don't shine/The kid will put a bullet through your life/Who's really to blame?" Another song was simply directed at a certain weekly newspaper in Seattle, which Ayers said has grown a little too big for its britches. Her song bit with lines like "I'm sleeping with The Stranger/Now I'm gonna be a rock star." Honey Tongue has been together for two years, mostly performing at small venues and on college campuses. It's made up of Ayers, lead vocals and keyboard; Graham NcNeill, guitar; Darnton Lewis, drummer; and Same Larson, bassist. The band is touring to promote its first studio album, which can be ordered at www.honeytongue.net next month. Tour dates and band info can also be found at the site.
(C) 2002 Idaho Argonaut via U-WIRE
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