"Everything is on Fire" by The Honeyrunners: A Relatable Ode to Powerlessness
Cover for The Honeyrunners debut album “Everything is on Fire”
It would not be a stretch to say that the world is absolutely crazy right now. COVID-19 continues to spread across the world without any signs of stopping. Climate disasters are sprouting up everywhere you look, and fear mongering politics hasten the spread. After hearing all of this, it’s easy to fall into spirals of helplessness. What can I do about it? How can I make an impact? Would it even amount to anything? As you sit in your room and read these stories over and over again, it's easy to feel powerless as the world burns around you.
Dan Dwoskin, lead singer and pianist for The Honeyrunners
Canadian soul band The Honeyrunners feel the exact same way. Utilizing their music prowess, they express these vastly complex feelings through raw, powerful tunes on their debut album “Everything is on Fire,” which was released on October 22nd on all platforms. Fusing American twang with a northern twist, the band’s unique feel serves as a great vehicle for delivering these powerful and relatable emotional experiences.
Opening with the soulful groove of “Run and Hide,” this first song helps set the tone for the rest of the album. The very first lyrics ask the listener “Did you remember to check for snakes? / Shake the trees and watch your face? / Did you remember to lock yourself inside?” These feelings of paranoia blast the listener from the very start, harkening towards the world we live in today. However, as the song reaches its end, there is an extremely uplifting key change; one that hints at a sliver of optimism amidst all the uncertainty.
“Things are fucked up, but they’re okay” says Dan Dwoskin, the lead singer and pianist for the band. “Everything we see is just like, ‘The world is on fire, we’re all gonna die, everyone is getting sick,’ you know. My bandmates and I wanted to make music that helps people cry, and let go of some of their shit.”
This message of hopeful cynicism is carried on throughout the album, and each song takes a unique spin on this message of optimism.
With a crooning horn section and beautifully textured background vocals, “What Are You Scared Of?” is a beautiful soul-ballad that I loved from start to end. The song's lyrics revolve around its title, telling the listener that, “It doesn’t make any more sense out there / Why we’re all so goddamned scared / To live.” This fear is expressed unabashedly, and this part of the album is a perfect example of the band exploring their sound with guest artists. For example, some of the aforementioned background vocals on the album are provided by Carleigh Aikins of the band Bahamas. This and many more collaborations help make the album as a whole feel incredibly sonically diverse and fleshed-out
With a clash of highs and lows, “Cabin Fever” is my absolute favorite song on the entire record. Beginning with a burst of organs, the verse mellows out and builds up again to the climatic chorus, crying out that “The door is open, but I have my doubts / There’s something keeping me inside this house / All this cold rain, and there’s still a drought / It’s cabin fever and there’s no way out.” I personally interpreted this as a perfect parallel to the murky COVID-19 landscape we live in now. In Boston, although cases are not as bad as they have been, the effects and precautions surrounding the disease are still present everywhere you go. So, despite new doors being opened as things get better, it can be extremely hard to escape from a quarantine mindset and into these new changes.
Despite the themes fitting perfectly with the cabin fever aspect of COVID-19, these ideas can be applied to any personal struggles a listener may be going through. Interestingly, Dan talked about how the album itself was actually written far before the pandemic even began. The band spent three years crafting each track, tirelessly. The fact that these pre-COVID songs are being carried over so seamlessly into the era of the pandemic showcases that this content is timelessly lonely and isolationist. “If we can afford people a moment to listen to these songs, and really think about what it means for them, that’s like our ultimate reason for being,” said Dwoskin.
With 9 fantastic tracks to explore, The Honeyrunners’ “Everything is On Fire” is a pop-soul album with musicality and sheer relatability that makes it a comforting listen, whether in COVID times or not.