Review: The Submarines – Honeysuckle Weeks

It seems like more and more bands are putting their albums up for download through sites like iTunes, Amazon, and eMusic long before they his store shelves. Yesterday I was surprised to find the Submarines have put their sophomore album, Honeysuckle Weeks, up for purchase on iTunes. The physical disc doesn’t hit stores until May 13, but for the impatient (like me), there’s that good old instant gratification. Of course, putting your album out early is only a good thing if you’re bringing the goods, and the Submarines have done it again.

Husband-wife duo John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard wrote their first (and still highly recommended!) first album while broken up and the album only became a reality after they got back together (and then married). So, Honeysuckle Weeks is their first album written together, but that doesn’t change the formula too much. What we still have is ten tracks of beautifully arranged boy-girl pop heaven. The band doesn’t knock down any walls, they just make really good songs perfect for the upcoming summer months and driving with the windows down and the breeze in your face. The first single, “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie,” gives a nice sampler of what the album has to offer with its great melody and rich sound. A few tracks mix in some interesting new sounds, like “1940,” which has a dub beat with strings that sound like they come from, well, 1940. The simpler tracks almost have a Mirah-like feeling, with Blake adding a hushed but powerful edge to her voice, while the more exuberant tracks are everything you want in an indie pop song.

I can’t really say yet if I prefer this album to their wonderful debut, but I can say that the Submarines have added another great album to their repertoire and have steered clear of the sophomore slump. Pick it up now, or in a month when it comes out on CD, but do make sure to pick it up.

From Honeysuckle Weeks (buy on iTunes)

MP3: The Submarines:: “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 11:02 pm and is filed under The Yellow Stereo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.