Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Sweat on the Brain" by Honey Wild

By Bob Makin

originally published: 12/01/2023

Honey Wild will celebrate the release of their seven-song EP, “Strange & Distant,” Dec. 2 at Pianos in New York City. To celebrate, the single “Sweat on the Brain” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week. GRAPHIC BY ANDREW SULLIVAN

Honey Wild, winners of the 2019 Makin Waves Song of the Year, will celebrate the release of their new EP, “Strange & Distant,” on Dec. 2 at Pianos in New York City.

As part of the celebration, “Sweat on the Brain,” the seven-song effort’s single and video, is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Sweat on the Brain” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Dec. 1 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin and MixCloud.

“‘Sweat on the Brain’ is a song about feeling sexy,” founding singer-songwriter Hana Denson said. “It was written at a time in my life where I was getting back into dating after being in several relationships in a row, and I was really not concerned with getting into anything serious. For the first time in a long while, I let myself enjoy meeting new people and just feeling good in my own skin.”

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The music video was filmed and produced by Howl Peak Productions (Baron Praxis, Rachel Ana Dobken). The clip juxtaposes performance video of the full band, including a horn section, at the Film Factory in Jersey City with B-roll captured in the Journal Square subway station.

“Strange & Distant” also features three new songs — the title track, “Ruse,” and “Turn Me,” which is prefaced by a sweet jazzy piano intro separately entitled “The Beginning of the End” — as well as two re-released tracks off the 2019 self-titled EP: “Heart” and “Don't Call Me Baby,” the Makin Waves Song of the Year winner.

“All of the songs on ‘Strange & Distant’ chronicle my experiences in abusive relationships, my internal struggle to extricate myself from them, and, finally, learning to value myself,” Hana said. “This journey starts with the title track in which the narrator of the song realizes they are being mistreated by a romantic partner, threatens to leave again, and dreams of something different. We make our way through ‘Turn Me’, a song about fighting back when someone threatens you with physical violence, and 'Ruse', a duet I sing with former Honey Wild guitarist Christian Fernandez, about a co-dependant couple whose members silently want to end their relationship, but decide to stay put in hopes that they will one day like each other again.

“By contrast, the remaining tracks — 'Sweat on the Brain,’ ‘Don't Call Me Baby,’ and 'Heart' — champion freedom, self-love, and respect,” she continued. “It is my hope that by speaking openly and frankly about my experiences, others will feel free to do so as well. There is no shame in being a victim, and no one should feel afraid to expect, and in certain cases demand, respect from every person in their life.”

Cristian also plays guitar on “Strange & Distant,” which also features Nick Marzullo on guitars, Angela Brancheck and Nick Marzulo on bass, Christian Lopez on drums, Jason Laney on piano, Haley Lopez on violin, Ken Zampella on sax, Erez Lirov on trumpet, and Marco Jaimes on trombone.

The album was recorded at Mercury Studios by Jerry Ramos and The Bunker Recordings by Mike Dwyer, who also mixed and mastered it.

For more about Honey Wild, visit www.HoneyWildBand.com.

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected].

About the author:

New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.

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