Honeychords - no cars in the sky

Honeychords 

No Cars In The Sky
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Dan Johansson is one of those guys who have the ability to write an endless supply of pop songs that make you wonder if you should just stop trying. He hails from Stockholm, Sweden and is the only member of Honeychords. He produces power pop that may just be the Swedish version of A.C. Newman. HIs latest EP entitled No Cars In The Sky is a three-song EP that centers around his voice and his guitar. (There are drums and bass but they just provide a backbone for the elements to lie on). 

The multiple guitar melodies are usually cleanly picked and emerge with each other creating interweaving harmonies. His voice is attractive and sounds great when he combines it with background vocals as he does on the second song “Grand Theft Audio.”What might be the most impressive about this album is that he recorded it himself on his Mac Pro. I was not expecting this, as the vocals are crisp, clear and sounded very professional. The guitars also sounded great. Perhaps the only element that sounded a little subpar were the drums.

The EP starts out with “No Cars In The Sky.” which you can look at as a song divided into two parts. The first section is about melody and harmony. I loved it as it sounded like a combination of The Beach Boys and Elliott Smith. The song takes a turn around the 2-minute mark when he introduces distortion to the guitar and it feels like a power-pop song. It is interesting however because the transition is seamless but also has a different feel. A hard feat to pull off but he did a good job. “Grand Theft Audio” is an obvious play on words to the popular videogame “Grand Theft Auto.” The song could be confused with a Fountains of Wayne song if you didn't know any better. It is an excellent song for rolling down the window on a nice summer day to put yourself in a good mood. The EP closes with “The Dwelling” which was my personal favorite out of the three. It’s a rather simple song as he forgoes drums and bass leaving even more space for the listener to relish in his voice and guitar work.

This is a good EP but it did leave me hungry for more. I’m hoping he’s working on a full-length because I thoroughly enjoyed No Cars In the Sky.

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