The Honored Guests

Something about the Honored Guests' music (previously mentioned here) seems to render reviewers incoherent:

Soon you find yourself reaching out to him, as the milk chocolatey riffs swell and wash over you, enveloping your mind and just short of drowning you in their steady, hypnotic pulse, like a musical undertow. Thus, an often pretty album's intriguing musicianship is undermined by the grip of its pervasive groove. (Independent review)

Then again, when drummer Andrew Kinghorn says, "I think we sound like if Tom Petty were being held at gunpoint by a British barbershop quartet," what can you expect?

I'll just say that they're mid-tempo indie rock with some nice vocal harmonies here and there (e.g., "Postmarked"). Their debut album, iawokeinacityasleep, features some nice tunes including "Postmarked" and the spacey title track. "Days are Getting Brighter" starts off as a mellow acoustic track, but falls into the mid-tempo drone that does make the album start to sound a little samey after a while (which I think is what the Independent reviewer was getting at up there). Their next performance is January 21 at Local 506 with Cub Country and the Strugglers. (That should be a fine show! See my previous Strugglers post.)

MP3: "Postmarked"
MP3: "iawokeinacityasleep"
Also download "I Can't Keep You" and "Days Are Getting Brighter" from myspace.com
(from The Honored Guests, iawokeinacityasleep, American Laundromat 2004. Buy)

MP3: "Coming Apart at the Seams"
(from Postmarked [single], 2004. Out of print)

MP3: "Leaving"
(demo, February/March 2003)