My friends, I’m pleased to say, rock n roll is definitely not dead. If you’ve got anybody in your life telling you it is, just say, “Dirty Honey, baby.”

There were two albums that I was really looking forward to for 2021. The first was from Greta Van Fleet, The Battle At the Garden Gate which, I’ll admit was a bit of a disappointment. Although, upon reflection I will admit that perhaps it was merely a case of their reach exceeding their grasp. The second new rock band I was looking forward to seeing an album from was Dirty Honey. Their new, self-titled album dropped just last Friday.

I discovered Dirty Honey in, of all places, an issue of ‘Classic Rock’ magazine last summer. The pandemic and its ensuing lockdown had me bored to tears. And, while I like to think I’m a highly motivated person, fear and boredom are the only things that really motivate me. Boredom drove me to the bookstore, with my mask on, to discover magazines I’d never heard of: ‘Classic Rock,’ ‘Uncut’ and a few others. I bought the ‘Classic Rock’ magazine because the reunited Black Crowes were on the front cover and I was dying to read something other than books on history. I was starting to feel like I was in college again. In ‘Classic Rock’ I saw nothing more than a blurb about Dirty Honey but it was enough to get me intrigued. I couldn’t help but remember all the bands I discovered in my 20s when I was reading ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine… back when they still wrote about rock n roll. Now all I see in that magazine is articles about this Billie Eilish. She seems fun…

Upon discovering Dirty Honey last summer I quickly snapped up their EP, also creatively named Dirty Honey – EP. I connected with that EP immediately. The track “Rolling 7s” has remained in high rotation here in the B&V lab and in my head. I hear the lyric “When you need a little lovin’, All night long” in the back of my mind yes, all night long. Dirty Honey is a classic 4-piece rock band. They even have a cool, Stonesy type logo. The band was a riff heavy rock band with a mix of hard rock like GnR, possibly even some AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and I do hear shades of Aerosmith. I’m not suggesting anything derivative here, it’s just that’s the best way to give you a frame of reference. I knew Dirty Honey (Marc Labelle, vocals; John Notto, guitar; Justin Smolian, bass; Corey Cornerstone, drums) were working on their debut LP and thought we’d hear from them in 2020, but I’m sure release plans were affected by the ‘Rona.

I’ll start off by saying Dirty Honey absolutely rocks. This may be my summer go-to rock album this year. The record starts off with the first single, “California Dreaming'” reviewed earlier on B&V. It’s a great crunchy rock opener. Possibly my favorite song on this album is “The Wire.” I played it for the Rock Chick and she looked up and said, “This is really good…” Indeed. “The Wire” has Labelle’s most impassioned vocal and I love Notto’s riff and solo. “Tied Up” gave me a slight G’n’R vibe. I love the chorus, “I love the way you move, so tied up, I love the way you touch me.” I love the riff on “Take My Hand,” its punchy like Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” “Gypsy” is another great, urgent rocker. It’s filled with all the wanderlust the title implies. “Gypsy” probably has Notto’s best solo. Again, I love the chorus, “I’m on the run, living like a gypsy.” The choruses these guys come up bore into your brain. 

This is just a fun rock n roll album. It kind of reminds me of those early, classic Aerosmith LPs, nine songs long, all rock. They do mix it up on the last track, the bluesy “Another Last Time.” It’s also a competitor for my favorite tune. They add some keyboards for texture on this track. How can you not love a song with the lyric, “used me up like a motel room”? It’s a classic, I know you’re bad for me, but I can’t resist another go-round… which if you knew me before the Rock Chick, you’d know that is a vibe I’m deeply familiar with. 

Dirty Honey gets a strong thumbs up from us here at B&V. Or rather than thumbs up, maybe a strong “devil horns” up. This is one to turn up really loud with a tumbler of a fine sour mash. I like to think of it as music to scare the neighbors with. Give Dirty Honey a listen and I guarantee they’ll get you up out of your chair! 

Cheers!