Review by Dillon Crader
Right out of Portland, Oregon, Honey Bucket delivers to us Magical World, which is one of the most interesting albums I have ever listened to my entire life, and in the best way possible. Magical World has a lot to offer listeners which is really enjoyable to hear, not just the same song repeated over and over through the entirety of the record. Different songs come and go with different attitudes and sounds that makes each track stand out on its own.
Magical World makes you enjoy getting by during your everyday life. One of the most striking songs, and one that really gives off this vibe is “This That.” The song is very laid back. The guitar and drums paired together just give it a nice, easy and casual listen with some very bizarre and great lyrics along with the very sloppy sounding clarinet sounding solo. The “solo” is all over the place, and while it doesn’t sound incredible, the imperfections make it up right funny but enjoyable as well.
Another track that is easy to fall in love with is “Unexplainable Phenomenon.” The song is very relaxing and laid back instrumentally, just like “This That,” as well as the majority of the album. “Unexplainable Phenomenon” has very weird interlude-like pause that just grooves right into a very fuzzy, subtle guitar lead that repeats until the end of the song. Like I mentioned earlier, this is a very interesting album all together, but the part I find most enjoyable is that Magical World is just fun. Its hard to come across a record where you can just tell that the band just enjoys their music and doesn’t care what anyone has to say because they are simply having fun. The other strong aspect about the album is its sense of DIY.
The second half of the record is absolutely mind blowing. Tracks like “Carried Me All The Way” and “Sycamore” are some of the best songs I have heard this year. Additionally, the song lengths make for a very interesting listen. My first initial reaction to seeing a 13-track album made me nervous that I would lose attention or get bored, but I was wrong. The short length of the songs, mostly under two minutes songs were fantastic and something that isn’t utilized enough in music.
Overall, Magical World is different for very good reasons. There hasn’t been much music released this year that really pulls me in, but this is an album that I will definitely keep listening to. If you are in need of something new to shake things up, something that sounds different from anything else you listen to, Magical World is the album for you.
Rating: 4/5
Listen to “Sycamore”
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