Vulnerable, visceral, and hypnotically seductive, Honeycrush’s “Stars” is an intimate haze of desperation and detachment: A soul-stirring deep dive into the artist’s innermost sanctum, revealing a haunting space of tension and turmoil, angst and anxiety.
Stream: “Stars” – Honeycrush
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Lungs all full of soil and my bones they ached for you…
Honeycrush’s new single is the soundtrack to our rawest, realest fever dreams.
What exactly are we doing here? Who are we to others – and even more importantly, who are we to ourselves? Her song may be called “Stars,” and there’s certainly something spacey about this song – but while the artist’s head may be up in the clouds, her feet are very much planted on the ground. Vulnerable, visceral, and hypnotically seductive, Honeycrush’s “Stars” is an intimate haze of desperation and detachment. It’s a soul-stirring deep dive into her innermost sanctum, revealing a haunting space of tension and turmoil, angst and anxiety.
There’s so much you can get away with
But I don’t mind
Drive my car far into the night
Well, I don’t drive
Not anymore
Or court my morbid fascination with the end
Oh, I don’t want to leave the water
Leave the water
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Stars,” the second single taken off Honeycrush’s forthcoming debut EP, Milk Teeth (out October 17, 2023 via Dune Altar). The solo moniker for New York based singer/songwriter Alexandra Antonopoulos, Honeycrush (formerly “Honeyyycrush”) introduced herself last year as a wellspring of breathtaking poetry and visceral emotion conveyed through “darkly glittering soundscapes that blur the edges of alt-folk, slowcore, and grunge,” to quote the artist herself. Her first three songs “Tilt Your Head,” “Afterglow,” and “Belly Empty” established an artistic identity that dwells comfortably in life’s murky depths; one that is unapologetically vulnerable and brutally honest in everything she touches.
There’s so much you can get away with, but I don’t mind; drive my car far into the night…
Earlier this year, Atwood Magazine had the honor of premiering the artist’s fourth single “I Want It to Be Light So They Can See We Disappeared,” which we praised as a beautiful tempest: “Dark, haunting, and atmospheric… an achingly intimate alt-folk surrender to passion.”
If that track was a surrender to passion, then “Stars” is a surrender to the self: Following her EP’s searing, spirited lead single “Milk Teeth” (released in June), “Stars” is a subtle and softly stirring furor that finds Honeycrush in a pseudo dream-state. A moody, brooding guitar riff and tender, shuffling drum beats coalesce to create a dark, compelling atmosphere around her deeply evocative vocals. That hushed, heavy performance lures us in, immersing us in a tender, enchanting trance:
And can you hear the sound of the
Screaming stars all in my throat and
I am pounding, pounding down the door
I am watching
Watching you in a dream
If I could, I would’ve screamed
Leave the water
Leave the water
I saw stars… I saw stars
“Exploring themes of power and restraint, ‘Stars’ lures the listener to the edge of what is known and what is felt in a world of imagination and memory, leaving the listener to distinguish between the two,” Honeycrush tells Atwood Magazine. “When I was writing ‘Stars,’ I was dealing with a months-long episode of severe anxiety which left me feeling completely detached from my physical self.”
“It also recalls a very late, very hazy night I found myself by the Hudson River in some park where I was definitely not supposed to be in the state I was. When you’re depressed or having a hard time, you can become obsessed with useless thoughts like, “What would happen if I stayed here? Would anyone miss me? Is anyone wondering where I am right now?” Writing “I left my body by the water” felt like the perfect way to sum up the desperation I felt that night and the detachment I’d been feeling recently. So ‘Stars’ is both a true story and a fiction, like a tall tale, because it integrates two totally disparate moments in my life and blends the edges like a dream.”
If I could, I would’ve screamed for you that sleepless night
Instead I laid down in the road and counted the black lights
There was one, two, three, four, five, and six of them and
I woke up on the other side of town
By the river… By the river…
An intimate and intense reverie, “Stars” is a stunning, if not altogether breathtaking display of talent from Honeycrush.
A slow burner that never fizzles out, “Stars” continuously adds tension until the very end, imploring us to join the artist in her endless hazy daze. Is it a daydream, a nightmare, or something in-between?
We’ll surely know more upon Milk Teeth‘s EP release. Honeycrush’s debut is out October 17, 2023 via Dune Altar. For now, stream “Stars” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
Lungs all full of soil and my bones they ached for you
Head a cloud of smoke a maze of morning dew
Drops on the daisies that I crushed between my thumbs
I left my body by the water
By the water
And I saw stars… I saw stars…
I saw stars… I saw stars
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:: stream/purchase Stars here ::
:: connect with Honeycrush here ::
Stream: “Stars” – Honeycrush
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© Oliver Covrett
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