The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Week
  • Books + Movies
  • About
16
new
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: THE MARCH DIVIDE – “KING OF THE LOST CAUSE”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THOMAS DOLLBAUM – WELLSWOOD
SPILL NEW MUSIC: DIANA ROSS FT. TAME IMPALA RELEASE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW SINGLE “TURN UP THE SUNSHINE”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: HOUSEWIFE SHARE BRAND NEW TRACK “PATRICK BATEMAN”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: STILL EIGHTEEN – “KEEP ROCKING”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AVI KAPLAN – FLOATING ON A DREAM
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: COMING UP ROSES – “WOULD YOU EVER”
SPILL FEATURE: SONGS FROM PEOPLE ARE ALSO SONGS ABOUT PEOPLE – A CONVERSATION WITH DARI MAKSYMOVA OF 6TH CROWD
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: LOST CAT – “LOSERS BEWARE”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: FÉNIXDION – “SUGAR”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: BIBLIOTEKA – “TICK TOCK”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: GWAR HAVE GONE BERSERK! CHECK OUT THE NEW SONG “BERSERKER MODE” OUT NOW
SPILL NEW MUSIC: QUEEN KWONG RELEASES HER TAKE ON A ‘POP’ SONG “WITHOUT YOU, WHATEVER”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: ART D’ECCO – “MIDLIFE CRISIS”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: YUNGBLUD ANNOUNCES SELF-TITLED THIRD STUDIO ALBUM SET FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2 VIA LOCOMOTION/GEFFEN RECORDS
SPILL NEWS: CANADIAN PUNK LEGENDS DAYGLO ABORTIONS HIT THE ROAD WITH CITIZEN RAGE FOR A CROSS CANADA TOUR
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Week
  • Books + Movies
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • Track Of The Day
    • Track Of The Week
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
193
previous article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: TOP DOWN - ROUGH ROADS
next article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THIS MORN' OMINA - KUNDALINI RISING

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HONEY BEARD – DREAMLESS SLEEP

Honey Beard

Honey Beard
Dreamless Sleep
Independent

Toronto-based electronic duo Honey Beard’s debut full-length album, Dreamless Sleep, dropped mid-March. It follows their more experimental 2015 debut EP, Honey Beard.

Described as “dark synth-pop at its best,” the album is a moody, synth-pop electronica with smooth hooks, vocals that recall Depeche Mode, and excellence in production. It presents as a strong thematic album, something that is often lost with electronic releases that tend to be very track focused.

Founded in 2014, Honey Beard is comprised expat-Irishman, lyricist Gary J. Conlon (vocals/synth), and Montreal native Tom Bell (guitar/synth), who met in 2008 while playing amateur soccer (football). Their background in rock and alt folk has merged their guitar playing with the production and synthesized keyboard sounds of Honey Beard. The duo has performed around Toronto and Montreal clubs. It’s music that they define as “music that makes you think, feel and dance”.

“It’s the statement we want to make to the world, and it’s not the happiest of statements. It kind of taps into that sort of existential anxiety, the sort of dread, that nihilistic view of life. We try to disguise it with happy sounds and beats, which I think makes for a nice blend” says Conlon. Honey Beard has apparently even won over punk crowds.

The album opens up with tracks that tell a story from a night of debauchery (“Dreamless Sleep” and “Celestial Bodies”), to “Hummingbird” which sings about waking up to feelings of dread and self-loathing. Ah, the joy of a hangover. The synth tracks, full of arpeggiated goodness, encapsulate the spacey, surreal dance floor/club experience that takes you high and can devastate you the next morning. These tracks are grounded by the driving keyboard bass of “This Might Be Something” with thematic higher octave automated flourishes. The album ends on a light, floating track “Momento Mori”. Beautiful from start to finish.

Check them out live April 20, 2017 at Nocturne in Toronto, and April 29, 2017 at M Bar in Montreal or download their album via their website below.



Artist Links

website_flat_2016 facebook_flat_2016 twitter_flat_2016 instagram_flat_2016 soundcloud_flat_2016 youtube_flat_2016

Item Reviewed

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HONEY BEARD – DREAMLESS SLEEP

Author

Talia Wooldridge

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
10
10
8.0
Total Spill Rating
10
Total Fan Rating
1 rating
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewscelestial bodiesdreamless sleephoney beardm barnocturne
album reviews, celestial bodies, dreamless sleep, honey beard, m bar, nocturne
About the Author
Talia Wooldridge
Talia Wooldridge is an avid music lover, composer and ethnomusicologist who contributes artist interviews, live concerts, festivals and album reviews for Spill Magazine. She has written extensively on the intersection of music, personal identity and cultural symbolism with an early focus on Latin American Hip Hop and female Cuban rappers. In her spare time, Talia writes, composes music and manages Music Can Heal, a non-profit that brings live, award-winning musicians to inspire healing in hospitals, hospices and communities in need. Her next project is an interactive music-travelogue exploring music cultures and music travel around the globe. Follow her here: www.taliawooldridge.com + www.movetoyourownbeat.com.
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviewshoney beardnocturne
 
8.0
Thomas Dollbaum

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THOMAS DOLLBAUM – WELLSWOOD

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on May 20, 2022
Thomas Dollbaum Wellswood Big Legal Mess “I grew up in a small town between nowhere and nothing. By reputation, people move to Florida to run away from their problems, but instead of [...]
 
8.0
Avi Caplan
—

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AVI KAPLAN – FLOATING ON A DREAM

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on May 20, 2022
Avi Kaplan Floating On A Dream Fantasy Records One thing singer-songwriters can impress their potential audience with is their vocals. It can be any specific characteristic, from [...]
 
9.0
On-U Sound
—

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – PAY IT ALL BACK VOL. 8

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on May 13, 2022
Various Artists Pay It All Back Vol. 8 On-U Sound Master producer/songwriter/artist Adrian Sherwood has been behind all things On-U Sound since 1979, and since then he and [...]
 
8.0
Say Sue Me

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SAY SUE ME – THE LAST THING LEFT

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on May 13, 2022
Say Sue Me The Last Thing Left Damnably Sumi Choi (vocalist, guitarist) and her band Say Sue Me are from Busan, Korea. If that tells you that you would be in for some K-pop on their [...]
 
8.0
John Inghram

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN INGHRAM – JOHN INGHRAM

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on May 13, 2022
John Inghram John Inghram CD Baby John Inghram built a name for himself as a musician’s musician, particularly among artist that try to get the gist of the music that has anything [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THOMAS DOLLBAUM – WELLSWOOD
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AVI KAPLAN – FLOATING ON A DREAM
8.0
—
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS ARTISTS – PAY IT ALL BACK VOL. 8
9.0
—
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SAY SUE ME – THE LAST THING LEFT
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN INGHRAM – JOHN INGHRAM
8.0

Tweets by @spillmagazine

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Premieres
  • Track Of The Week
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Spill Magazine Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2022 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL FEATURE: CRUISE TO THE EDGE 2022 – THIS YEAR’S PROG CRUISE MAKES A LOT OF NOISE. A WHOLE LOT OF NOISE.
690
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PRIMUS – CONSPIRANOID
446
 
SPILL FEATURE: DON’T YOU FEEL CLOSER? – A CONVERSATION WITH CY CURNIN OF THE FIXX
399
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MEN WITHOUT HATS – AGAIN (PART 2)
327
 
SPILL NEWS: BARENAKED LADIES TO RELEASE LIVE TRACKS FROM SOLD-OUT ROYAL ALBERT HALL SHOW | DELUXE EDITION OF ‘DETOUR DE FORCE’ OUT JUNE 3
325
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – UNLIMITED LOVE
315
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: JERRY CANTRELL w/ LOLA COLETTE @ HISTORY, TORONTO
288
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: LOST CAT – “L.O.S.T.”
276
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: TANGERINE DREAM – RAUM
272
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NAZARETH – SURVIVING THE LAW
260
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: VR SEX – ROUGH DIMENSION
257
 
SPILL NEW MUSIC: VENUS BEMUS RELEASES DEBUT SINGLE “STORMS”
251
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LUCIUS – SECOND NATURE
246
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES