Rising London-based singer-songwriter conjures the romanticised spirit of Hollywood’s golden era on her love-torn, emotion wrangling sophomore EP.
Ever since Honey Gentry’s ethereal debut EP Moonlight was released last year, an underground clamour has amassed in praise of the singer-songwriter whose vocal prowess has made her an enticing prospect in a world of instant gratification and predictable pop. On her tumultuous sophomore EP, Gentry crafts a storm of diaphanous beauty; her flowing style hails back to Hollywood’s golden era, and acts as a romanticised yet dark-twisted letter of longing and mourning.
Pre-released single Daydream Baby evolves into a slow-rolling chain of majestic art pop, as the hushed whisper of the track’s introduction conjures a maelstrom of heartache and anguish. Instrumentally, the single glistens with the incandescent heartbeat provided by the old-fashioned electric guitar of long-term collaborator Ruben Elbrond-Palmer, which roots Gentry’s sound into the era of Californian romance in the 1960’s. Her beguiling vocals caress the single with such intelligence, hurling dramatic metaphors evoking destruction and termination between her unique blend of rose-tinted lyrical mysticism. Ruminating on a past relationship, Daydream Baby is a euphoric and soul-stirring offering, acting as her most complete release to date, and providing the perfect canvas for the rest of the EP to be developed upon.
"An underground clamour has amassed in praise of the singer-songwriter whose vocal prowess has made her an enticing prospect in a world of instant gratification and predictable pop."
The EP's kaleidoscopic title track explores the endless haunting of a lover living on solely within her dreams. A provocatory alternative lullaby possessed with a unique darkness, an eerie sheen is hushed across Dreamlover’s opening, like fog swarming the rolling countryside. Elbrond-Palmer’s softened guitar matches the tonally disparate quality of the single, but it is Gentry’s vocals which prove so alluring to listeners, lolling between sparse, whispered verses and the cult-like motif of the track’s chorus. Lacing her audience with seduction, Gentry tumbles around the creative chambers of her sleep-dependent mind, twisting and turning to reach a grip on something tangible to comprehend. Crawling carefully through a spiritual universe before building to an intense climax bolstered by harking backing vocals, Gentry floats off once more into the distance, back to the dream dimension, riding on the cushioned bed of spiraling guitar and paradoxical thoughts.
Honey Gentry has always managed to conjure an otherworldly capacity for melodic bliss, and Now I Wait sees the fallen angel yearning earnestly for a lover, washing an evocative love-torn soundscape of heartache, confusion and vulnerability. By projecting an emotional doomsday onto her listener, with a taut conflict gyrating around her mind, Gentry allows her instrumental background to be minimalist, offering little outside of her striking vocal range to captivate her listener.
"Yet whilst the new EP brings its listener closer into the emotional world of Honey Gentry, there lies an essence of mystery still within the artist."
As Heart of Gold gently folds over, its whirlwind of distorted guitars and Stevie Nicks-esque vocals bringing the EP to its natural conclusion, the lack of percussive drive starts to become noticeable. Dreamlover is a gorgeously haunting collection of work, projecting an impression of the singer in the toils of heartache and desperation. Its quilted soundscape is a testament to Gentry’s vocal capacity and her creative partnership with Elbrond-Palmer. Yet whilst the new EP brings its listener closer into the emotional world of Honey Gentry, there lies an essence of mystery still within the artist. Thus, the future is a tantalising prospect for this singer-songwriter delving further and crafting more intricately a unique sound-core, an entity that appears timeless on repeated listens, yet one that would thrive with careful evolution in the coming future.
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