HONEYMOAN Get Real About Uncomfortable Truths in ‘We’re On An Island, But It’s The UK’

Perhaps without meaning to, Cape Town-based alt-pop band HONEYMOAN have managed to both capture the pitiful essence of grey, rainy days in the UK and the discomfort that comes from accepting uncomfortable truths. 

Their new single ‘We’re On An Island, But It’s The UK’ is a nod towards the make-believe we use to comfort ourselves when we can’t accept the horrors of the world. 

In an era where the global socio-economic shift continues to teeter towards the point of no return, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Despite its messaging, the single is delightfully pop-y. Layered guitars, a soft beat, and a trusty synth bring us back to the 80s, and frontwoman Allison Rachel’s voice is distorted and distant over the sound. It’s a tune that you could listen to in a car with the windows rolled down, and it would be the perfect chill anthem if you didn’t listen to the lyrics.

“Write your story the way you like it / the villain the victim, the hero in all your glory / up to your hijinx, ignoring all the consequences” is the mantra of a chorus that echoes throughout the track. When you’re your own story’s writer, you can write whatever you want. You can be whoever you want in it, and make the story happier to suit yourself, but, as HONEYMOAN remind us, there are consequences that linger on the backburner that eventually need to be faced.

Almost fading in and out of the synths and guitars, the message is strong, but is still packaged in an digestible way. This isn’t a song about confronting the hard truths, but it reminds you of how peaceful the stories we tell ourselves to cover them up are. The truth is there, woven between the lyrics of acceptance, but confronting the horrors of the world is a different story. “Tell yourself it’s going to be okay but you’ve got nothing to live for” is the lyric that is almost strong enough to get the listener out of the haze, but not quite. Maybe there’s another song for that.

‘We’re On An Island, But It’s The UK’ is a track on HONEYMOAN’s upcoming album ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’, which is out September 29^th. You can also catch them on their UK & EU tour, tickets available here.

 

Sasha Semjonova
Image: ‘We’re On An Island, But It’s The UK’ Official Single Cover