Dirty Honey is back with a new single, their first piece of new music since 2019, and some details on their upcoming debut album.
Embedded below is the video for “California Dreamin’,” and no, it’s not a cover. As singer Marc Labelle explains to Rolling Stone, the track is far darker than the “I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.” vibes of the classic tune from The Mamas & The Papas.
“I knew there already was a song called ‘California Dreaming’, but I wanted to do a different take on it,” said LaBelle. “The dream isn’t always realized when you come out here, a lot of people end up moving back to where they came from because they didn’t achieve the fame and fortune that they were dreaming of. It can be a pretty dark place, and that’s where I wanted to take the lyrics. It’s kind of a dark song and it came from a place that’s autobiographical, but fortunately, at least now, things feel like they’re looking up.”
“California Dreamin’” is available on all major streaming platforms here.
As for Dirty Honey’s debut album, that self-titled effort is due out April 23 and will feature eight tracks. (Full tracklisting is below.) As previously reported, the band had been hard at work on the album throughout 2020, despite the pandemic. Back in June, Dirty Honey shared a video of how they were working with producer Nick DiDia via Zoom, with the band based in Los Angeles and DiDia based in Australia. Dirty Honey was originally slated to fly to Australia to work with DiDia in person, but the pandemic derailed those plans.
Despite the pandemic influencing how they were able to work, don’t expect the tracks from Dirty Honey to reflect much of 2020.
LaBelle tells Rolling Stone, “I have to say, it was a rather uninspiring time to be making a record. I’ve been sitting in my apartment for the last six months; I haven’t really seen or done anything with anybody. You’re trying to write songs about relationships or the state of the world, but you haven’t really experienced anything like that in so long. I consciously tried to stay away from writing about the pandemic, I just didn’t think that anybody would want to be reminded of it when this was all over. It’s tough when you’re not living a life to write about life.”
Dirty Honey is available for pre-order on digital platforms here. Album-related merch can be found at DirtyHoney.com.
Dirty Honey – ‘Dirty Honey’ – Tracklisting
1. “California Dreamin’”
2. “The Wire”
3. “Tied Up”
4. “Take My Hand”
5. “Gypsy”
6. “No Warning”
7. “The Morning”
8. “Another Last Time”
Check out our shots of Dirty Honey from 2019!
