Honey Moon write with charm and wit on Same Old Paradise

Detailing the story of a breakup with a problematic partner, with some philosophical notes thrown in, the record doesn’t necessarily spawn hits, but its easy-going nature is commendable.

Same Old Paradise’s selling point is its hooks and grooves: “Heart Won’t Wait”, “Stop And Listen” and “She Don’t Wanna Stay” will linger long after they’ve left. “Stop And Listen” is a perfect opener, with its joyful burst of exuberant energy, despite not matching that peak for the rest of the album. Its playful, almost jaunty beat is in contrast with its lyrics, a dig at someone whose ignorance is blinding: “Easy to please and open, that’s just not your style / Reclusive, you don’t wanna see it through, you’re in denial.”

The album follows a lyrical journey of being with someone with obvious personality difficulties, and the fallout from the dissolution of the relationship. “Disappear” and “Sweetheart”, the next songs, try to see the good in things when there might not be much. Despite sounding like a teen beach movie at parts, “Sweetheart” shows the mental differences between the two partners: on the chorus, the narrator admits, “Selfish and downright rude to me sometimes / I’m not like that with you”, before begging on the chorus, “Call me your baby / Say I’m your sweetheart.”

The breakup hurts no less when the former partner has been rude, though, on the five-minute epic “She Don’t Wanna Stay”, lead singer Jack Slater Chandler’s vocals strain with the titular lyric. On “(Why Do You Think You’re So) Special?”, too, this loss is lamented with the lyric, “Extraordinary girl with an ordinary guy / And I don’t know if I could ever stop loving you.” “Heart Won’t Wait” and “The Call” feel the weight of her absence, with the former coming around to the idea that maybe the relationship is better off finished, and that one’s own company is enough. “I don’t wanna spend another day waiting for the call,” he sings. On “Amor Fou”, which details how a rich boyfriend’s expensive gifts aren't enough to change his partner’s dissatisfaction, the band’s writing shines (“Twenty carat gold won’t cover mistakes / Illusions of the harmony she seeks”).

The album unfolds like a long Sunday morning in the sun, maybe a little too relaxed, but enjoyable if given the time. The band is clearly skilled, and the songwriting is clever and interesting in multiple places – but its sonic cohesion gives it a blurry feel. Same Old Paradise is an enjoyable – if not particularly eventful – listen.