Honey Claws: Healer EP

Honey Claws’ debut album dabbled in many different styles, but was at its best when the band stuck to minimalist, electronically-backed indie-rap. But it did start off with “Shout Out”, a very catchy indie-pop song. The band’s new Healer EP starts off in similar territory. “Lightning Kill Eye” is driven by a deep groove, a catchy synth line, and melodic singing. But Healer stays away from rap until its fourth and final track, “Orange Kitty Stamp”. Unfortunately, this extremely slow-moving song lacks compelling lyrics and interesting music. The other two songs on the EP fare a bit better. “Pemporer” is a mid-tempo track driven by a bouncy hi-hat and snare beat and a solid chorus. Its open and airy arrangement gives the song a loping feel that works to its benefit. “Beat of the Wet Eve” is a catchy, reggae-style song that uses another big beat and some Caribbean-style flute sounds effectively. The vocal melody in the song is also good despite a noticeably awful attempt at a Jamaican accent. Healer sounds like Honey Claws are still trying a little bit of everything and they aren’t entirely successful with it. Their strengths seem to be strong beats and catchy melodies, but the lyrical dexterity of the best songs on their debut album is almost entirely absent on this EP.