Band Review: An Honest Year

An Honest Year does not actually follow me on Twitter, but their lead guitarist, Stephen Morrell, does, so good enough. They get a review, and I like them, so it’s even better.

Also, they inspired me, because their ReverbNation bio indicates that they started out with Skype rehearsals. I have actually considered doing that, but it seemed impractical. I’m sure it still is for long term, but that you can start out that way seems kind of hopeful.

Stories are cool, but it always comes down to the music. Musically, An Honest Year comes with an infectious sense of fun. They’re pretty solidly within the pop genre, although more on the alternative/punk side. It is upbeat, it is danceable, but also, there are some edges there. The opening to “Starting Over” is pretty hardcore, honestly reminding me of Metallica a little, but is just a few bars.

Perhaps it is this underlying power that keeps them from cloying or getting annoying, or that there is variety in their songs, or their energy. It just feels important to clarify—I am not in any way using “pop” negatively. On some of their pages they list as similar to All Time Low, Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, and Yellowcard. I tend to agree, which does reinforce the pop punk/alternative punk argum

If I were going to judge them, it would be for the Taylor Swift cover (“I Knew You Were Trouble”), but they do a pretty good job of it, and I’ve admitted before that my hatred of her is not logical. They also do an Avril Lavigne cover (“Here’s to Never Growing Up”, which I like considerably better), and a Coldplay cover (“Sparks”).

That leads to a pretty good point. For purchasing, you can go through iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp, but you will generally find three songs available. Going to the Youtube channel will give you the three covers, the three widely available for purchase songs (“You and All Your Friends”, “Starting Over”, and “Second Guessing”), as well as an official video for “Liar & A Thief” and a lyrics video for “You And All Your Friends”. (And to get an idea of their fun, check out the photo with the Taylor Swift cover.)

While I do encourage you to buy some songs, obviously you should also go to Youtube. It also seems reasonable to believe that there is more on the way, and if the last two are newer, it shows a sound that is maturing and improving, but it still really fun. So, check them out.

http://www.amazon.com/An-Honest-Year/dp/B009B2SXT8/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/an-honest-year-single/id562153808

http://www.youtube.com/user/anhonestyear

https://www.facebook.com/#!/anhonestyear

https://twitter.com/AnHonestYear

http://an-honest-year.tumblr.com/

http://anhonestyear.bandcamp.com/

http://www.reverbnation.com/anhonestyear