Honey Claws LP, "Healer" EP Review

If you were young and impressionable in the late ‘90s, you might have been convinced into believing that rock and roll was petering out. Its replacement? The intersecting realms of IDM, electronica, or one of its many synonyms. Synthesizers, dancers, beats - this was supposed to be The New. Shows like MTV’s Amp spread the gospel, and all of a sudden Prodigy was Top Ten material. And then, like the little engine that couldn’t, dance slipped back into place.

This history is only worth mentioning because local quartet Honey Claws play with a sound that could have easily fit into the trance and house ascendancy of the '90s. Their combination of busy, multi-person vox, thick beats and a collaborative approach to dance call to mind that brief window of time when The Future Sound of London really did sound like the future. Maybe it’s the fact that this music didn't take over the world (let alone Austin) that makes Honey Claws sound so idiosyncratic. We’ve got our share of dudes spinning wax and the odd mash-up DJ (unfortunately) but bona fide homegrown dance groups are a little harder to come by. It's too bad, then, that the actual material on these two releases are so at a loss for ideas.

The Healer EP prominently features vocalist Jon von Letscher, whose alternate scream-singing and actual screaming is unmistakably, irrevocably, annoyingly similar to Animal Collective’s Avery Tare, and on the instrumental side of things, "Beat of the Wet Eve” even has the tropical tones that informed the last Panda Bear release. The first two tracks, “Lighting Kill Eye” and “Pemporer” fare much better than most of Honey Claws' material, thanks to a celebratory, free form approach. The loops are busy and full of nuance, something not always apparent in this band's material.

The LP, unfortunately, doesn’t correct Letscher’s least listenable tendencies, and makes the major mistake of throwing more slurry rap into the mix. Braggadocio lyrics from a “pimp from the burbs,” paint a portrait of a tough, blunt-smoking dude too busy to finish his syllables. “E-Sticker” sets the tone: “If there’s a set of titties in front of you/ Kindly grab them/ Ladies, let it happen.” There's not much of a message aside from letting you know that, "Man, this dude is slick." The act isn't especially convincing, especially from a group who hails (partially) from this town, in this decade, and not L.A in 1997. For those who like their lyrics un-specifically aggressive and backing tracks conducive primarily to dancing, Honey Claws will not disappoint. For others looking for something deeper - let alone the “new take on American music” RCRD LBL purports this music to be, you won’t find it here.

Honey Claws: [website]

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