War Honey – Musician Spotlight
Spring is often seen as a symbol of renewal and growth, a time for folks to move along in their lives and their journeys. But spring is also a time of reflection: a time to look back on our lives and learn from our past triumphs and failures.
War Honey, a Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet, knows this very well, having released their latest single at the turn of the seasons. The stinging yet melancholy “Skinless” is full of reflections on a soured relationship and weeping guitar solos – plus lots of reverb.
“Skinless” is the band’s third release, having put out their initial demo, “Racehorse,” at the start of 2020 and closing the year out with the release of their debut EP, Shard to Shatter.
Following in the spirit of these two releases, “Skinless” delivers on the band’s signature “gloomy indie” vibe while simultaneously offering some of the group’s most biting lyrics.
Lead singer Gabrielle Dana’s haunting voice brings poignant lines like “I’m in good spirits most of the time / I shut my ugly mouth for my pretty pride” and “No one’s ever handing you the genie’s lamp / And nothing’s ever falling fuckin’ in your lap / And these wishes you pursue / Swearing that they’re always fuckin’ coming true” to life through catchy melodies, all while guitarist Ben Fitts constructs beautifully lamenting harmonies underneath.
The laid-back rhythmic section, composed of bassist David Bloom and drum programmer Jake Rosenberg, adds to the equation by providing a constant backing sound that moves the piece forward through its affecting story.
The melancholic sounds of “Skinless” mirror War Honey’s gloomy first demo, “Racehorse,” in both sound and lyrical content. Here, Dana’s voice once again shines through as she hypnotically wails about the weight that lingering sadness and depression can bear on a person.
The lyrics are made all the more significant considering that the song was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but that the track’s recording happened throughout the early days of the 2020 quarantine: “Well the next thing coming happens every day / And this old race horse is breaking every leg / And for what? / For whom? / And how long?”
As Dana grapples with the monotony brought about by an unrelenting bout of depression, she has also explored topics many artists pondered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: if today and the next and the next are all indistinguishable from one another, what point is there to put me through hell to continue to create art while I’m struggling just to get by?
War Honey released a video of them performing this track live at the start of March 2020, shortly before our worlds would all be swept upside down by the looming pandemic.
Watching this performance is especially enchanting, as it is hard to imagine that in just one short month, the song’s lyrics would seemingly be about a completely different experience altogether.
War Honey’s beautiful and haunting melodies are the perfect vehicle to share their dreary tales of a life that hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows.
Despite the general gloominess of their sound – or perhaps because of it – they are an exceptionally great listen, and always leave me feeling like I am not alone in my struggles with the general trepidation that comes with living life in 2021.
Perhaps I can take a page from their latest single and learn to shed the skin I currently have, dropping the weight of the world, and become something entirely new – something skinless.
Austin’s arbitrary rating: 3,400, for the approximate number of snake species found around the world – all of which shed their skin, despite never truly being “skinless.” 🐍🐍🐍
War Honey is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band who write “sad songs with lots of reverb.” Their latest release, “Skinless,” is available to stream on all major streaming platforms. You can follow them on Bandcamp, Spotify, Facebook, and Instagram.
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