Honey Ryder – Rising Up

• 25th Nov 2008

London duo Honey Ryder started their career promisingly with a hit single in the form of “Numb”, the dance mix of which was a decent success on the dance floors late this summer. Unfortunately the single itself was a fairly vacant attempt at epic pop-rock but having done so well with remixing “Numb” hopes were still high for their debut album “Rising Up”.

These hopes are now more than dashed with the formulaic but ultimately emotionless collection of songs that “Rising Up” has proven to be. The second single, “Fly Away” is all too similar to the first single, and almost every other song on the album really does just like a variation on the same theme, “Coming Around Again” and title track “Rising Up” being prime examples.

Honey Ryder have garnered a lot of attention in the music industry with their unique business strategy which involves rewarding investors with a share in their future profits. This rather cold approach to their music seems to have fed into the album itself removing any passion which could have fed into the music. In addition singer Lindsey’s voice suits the gentle lilting folk style seen best in “Years From Now” and “Dignified” but falters when she attempts anything more strenuous. The actual songs themselves are good on the surface and fairly well written but Honey Ryder seem unable to get any real depth out of their work. They’d be better sticking to the song writing in the future.