Wollongong’s Dropping Honey display many of the facets of what I call the Marrickville Sound – bands from the eighties or nineties that have evolved into other bands or reconvened where they left off, rejuvenated, refreshed and just as creative as ever. Dropping Honey are the latter variation – a band that has got back together after an extended hiatus, and their first single back in the saddle, ‘Branches’, is proof positive that creativity has no use by date. With legendary producer Wayne Connolly (Underground Lovers, You Am I, Cloud Control) at the controls, there is no doubt something very special here.
There can be no doubt that there is a genetic code identifiable by both the band’s name and the sound that can be traced back to the venerable The Jesus and Mary Chain, and that in itself is recommendation enough. However, ‘Branches’ is no pastiche or tribute: it has its own definable qualities resulting into an anthemic, statuesque gem.
Guitarist/Vocalist Damien Lane says of the single:
‘Branches’ came together quickly and became an obvious lead single, despite being a bit of an outlier in our set. It’s simpler and has a more straightforwardly shoegaze or dream pop vibe, which seemed to fit a song about childhood memories.
Reverberated guitars etch out contrails in the sky at the opening before crashing through with a distorted warble, a distant vocal chorus haunting and ghostly. The vocals soar, with harmonies at the edges that recalls at times Ride, a majestic, imperial and pulse quickening wall of sound, thick with a shimmering atmosphere. This is marvelous stuff:
‘Branches’ is out now through the Silhouette Label (distributed by Farmer & The Owl) and can be downloaded and streamed here.
Alongside Lane, Dropping Honey consists of Jolyon Pagett (guitar/vocals), Darren Ireland (drums) with Zac Morgan replacing former bassist Dave Lee. For ‘Branches’ the band enlisted Jodi Phillis from seminal Australian band The Clouds to contribute backing vocals. In fact Lane is guitarist for Amanda Brown (The Go-Betweens) and also Jodi Phillis, whose last album he produced.
