Last year I was putting together a Cassette Day compilation with Charlie Murphy from Freak Genes when I heard the Kim Shattuck-produced full length Crushed by Los Angeles alt pop band honeychain. honeychain (spelled with a lowercase “h”) have a sound that’s not entirely dissimilar to the power pop sounds of The Muffs, Material Issue, or Go-Go’s, but delivered with a punchy-yet-vulnerable Chrissie Hynde-style vocal. Front-woman Hillary Burton knows her shit, and she’s a thrill to talk to about all things Los Angeles and rock n roll. Her songwriting chops are akin to folks like Charlotte Caffey, Anna Waronker, or Kim Shattuck. When she’s not writing stone cold classics for honeychain, she’s beatin’ the traps in The Pandoras!
I sent Hillary Burton a note after hearing Crushed (which recently received the vinyl treatment on German rock n roll institution Screaming Apple Records) and she jumped on board the project we were putting together with a cover of Material Issue’s “Goin’ Through Your Purse”. I was not disappointed in the least when she turned in something that sounded like it would not have been out of place on the Clueless soundtrack!
The comp (Neon Maniacs) came out last Fall for Cassette Store Day on Girlsville in the US and Nerve Centre Records in the UK. Rodney Bingenheimer played the cut on his final show on KROQ before heading over to Little Stevens Underground Garage, and honeychain just spent a recent weekend in L.A. filming a cool video for it, so go give that a whirl!
honeychain WEBSITE
honeychain FACBOOK
honeychain BANDCAMP
GIRLSVILLE RECORDS BANDCAMP
NERVE CENTRE RECORDS BANDCAMP
SCREAMING APPLE RECORDS WEBSITE
