Dirty Honey: “Can’t Find The Brakes” Album Review

Reviews

4 Nov

2023 has been a huge year for mainstream rock and metal albums (Greta Van Fleet, Royal Blood, Rival Sons, Metallica, QOTSA and more), but “Can’t Find the Brakes”, a well placed release within this busy calendar, stands as a strong conclusion to a significant twelve months.

Dirty Honey, if you don’t know at this point, do rock ‘n’ roll very well. Plenty of acts in the mainstream today have a definitive blues, soul or metal driven character, but when I say Dirty Honey is “rock ‘n’ roll”, that’s exactly what I mean. If you’re a fan of AC/DC, Whitesnake, or any band of the 70s and 80s that spun simplicity into the most fascinating of things, Dirty Honey’s sophomore offering should have you quite excited. Having had the pleasure of seeing the band live opening for Rival Sons two Summers ago, the band are excellent performers: Charming, engaging and showy when they need to be. The album, as anticipated, once again captures their fiery, sensual character.

Opening with the five-minute long, “Don’t Put Out The Fire”, a daring choice akin to Rival Sons’ lengthy “DARKFIGHTER” opening, the song is a typical riff-driven track featuring warm moments of harmony and beat two breaks. Though not my choice for an opener, I suspect method in their madness: They have to surprise us somehow, since we’re begging them to give us the classic rock sound we’ve heard again and again but still adore.

Next up is the rousing lead-track, “Won’t Take Me Alive”, which plants Justin Smolian’s glorious basswork centre stage. An excellent choice for a lead-track, I’d suggest this single if you want a taste, or rather, full blast of the album and what the band are all about, in one listening session. The four-piece are rightly in full force, showcasing their melodic decision making (unison or split), transitions from straight to off-beat grooves, and LaBelle’s retro-drenched vocals.

Maintaining their brashness in “Dirty Mind”, the energy drops in succeeding track “Roam”, which is a needed breather. Though powerful, the song is the most stripped-back, non-acoustic track out of the band’s entire discography, which I find refreshing, as it represents some exploration from the band and an understanding of when they should lighten their arrangements. For a well-rounded album, I enjoy when a band uses density and sparseness equally to their advantage, which Dirty Honey seem to have tackled quite comfortably.

Back to their cheekier character in, “Get A Little High”, more harmony work seeps in, which strongly compliments much of LaBelle’s deliverance. Going purely acoustic in “Coming Home (Ballad of the Shire)”, which was less “Far over the misty mountains cold” inspired than secretly hoped, the song is nevertheless nurturing and familiar, and sure to be a requested track on upcoming live setlists, for those who wish to get their lighters out.

Smolian’s bass punches through once again in the album’s title track, confirming that if we got too much of it in the earlier songs, we’d be too drunk already. Splashes of rhythmic unison between drummer Jaydon Bean and guitarist John Notto make this another well-placed track as we head into the final quarter of the album. “Satisfied” opens with a hearty sixteenth note groove from Bean, who as a relatively new addition to the band, hasn’t been exposed too often in this LP so far.

Leaning into tough, bluesy tones in “Ride On”, some 60s and Beatles-esque influences peep out, laying down their truly classic-inspired sound. “You Make It Alright”, the penultimate and second-longest song of the album, is another track on the lighter side - a heartfelt listen for a good end of day wind-down. Finishing with the almost seven-minute, “Rebel Son”, the band ends on a high - in true Dirty Honey fashion. I argue that this should have been placed earlier in the album, as it’s one of the most flavoursome tracks out of the eleven, finally giving us a proper taste of Bean’s kit playing with a bit more colour, and the band relying on groove rather than riffage.

It’s certainly been a whirlwind few years for Dirty Honey, so with this defining sophomore offering, let's hope they can “find the brakes” and enjoy some downtime before a huge 2024. There were high hopes for this album, and the golden state boys delivered their homework on time.

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