Honey Revenge break down 'Loving And Losing' ahead of September 18 release

Honey Revenge have pulled back the curtain on 'Loving And Losing', the California duo's second album, arriving September 18. In a feature published by Rock Sound, Devin Papadol and Donny Lloyd explain that the record grew out of the idea that every love eventually leaves behind some form of grief.

Writing began in a cabin in the California mountains, but the pair's relationship was already strained. "We were not getting along when we started writing this", Papadol admits, describing a sibling-like dynamic between the two: she is the oldest in her family, Lloyd the youngest. Rebuilding how the band operated became part of the work itself.

The vocalist also contrasts the new material with 2023 debut 'Retrovision', originally intended as an EP before it expanded into an album the band toured for three years. Where that record ran on self-belief, 'Loving And Losing' holds opposing impulses side by side: the swagger of 'Hot Commodity' against the self-doubt of 'Trust Issues', where she questions whether she will ever write a good song again.

Sonically, the duo reached back to early 2000s party-pop, with Kesha named as a direct reference point. 'Sunday Scaries' turns hangover anxiety into a glossy hook, while 'Run Your Mouth' and 'Poison Apple Baby' are built for live rooms. 'Technicolor' and 'Freaks Of Nature' push the band into love-song territory, which Papadol calls the hardest writing on the record, given her long-standing resistance to the form.

The album's emotional weight is also tied to loss: Papadol's father died suddenly during the week 'Retrovision' was released, just as Honey Revenge's life as a touring band was getting underway.