The Honeydogs (reunited) share "Attic Brain" from new LP
THE HONEYDOGS SHARE THEIR NEW SINGLE “ATTIC BRAIN”
FROM ALGEBRA FOR BROKEN HEARTS, THE BANDS FIRST NEW ALBUM TO FEATURE THEIR ORIGINAL LINEUP SINCE 1997
OUT JULY 25TH VIA JULLIAN RECORDS (PRE-SAVE)
The Honeydogs new album Algebra For Broken Hearts comes out July 25th via Jullian Records, and in anticipation the band have shared the new single “Attic Brain”. Algebra For Broken Hearts marks a rebirth for the band, capturing the immediacy and lean rock vibes of their earliest recordings, along with the back-to-the-roots spirit reuniting the four original members; Adam Levy, Noah Levy, Trent Norton, and Tommy Borscheid, who last recorded together in 1997. With its Zeppelin riff bombast, album opener “Attic Brain” (a pun on “addict brain”) is a fitting calling card announcing the band’s triumphant revival.
Listen to the new single “Attic Brain”: https://orcd.co/attic
From Algebra For Broken Hearts out July 25th via Jullian Records (Pre-Save)
Listen to earlier single “Irish Goodbye”: https://orcd.co/ig
The expansive new album was recorded briskly in five days with longtime friend and collaborator “fifth Honeydog” John Fields (Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato) in June of 2024. Algebra For Broken Hearts is a synthesis of the scrappy early Honeydogs with the more sophisticated songwriting and stylistic explorations of more recent Honeydog offerings. It’s a fresh start with the best of old and new.
Brothers Noah (drums) and Adam Levy (singer-songwriter/ guitar) started the band in 1994, and enlisted the sturdy and inventive playing of Trent Norton on bass and the razor wire -meets-chicken picking stylings of Tommy Borscheid on guitar. The guitar-driven sound of the early band was shaped as much by classic country, soul and British rock as it was by their hometown Minnesota music scene heroes Prince, Dylan and The Replacements.
The band released their first eponymously titled record in 1995 and put in about four hundred club dates across North America in the next two years. Somewhere along the way, the term “Alt-country” got slapped on the Honeydogs and they got swept up in a fleeting craze. “Bands that were coming up at that time, like Whiskeytown, the Old 97s—we called all those bands ‘Nephew Tupelo.’ It drove us up the wall; it was everywhere you turned,” says Noah.
On those early Honeydogs records you’ll find nods to The Stones’ “Exile on Mainstreet,” The Kinks’ “Village Green Preservation Society,” The Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Gilded Palace of Sin” along with The Faces, Bowie, Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, and lots of bands mixing acoustic roots musics with riff based rock and roll. All of the gigs and bonding created a well-oiled road machine–as Tommy said, “we imprinted on each other…even to this day, when we get back together, two of us will show up wearing the same thing. The inside jokes are still there.”
The decision to reunite the original lineup, last seen together on the band’s 1997 album and major label debut, Seen A Ghost (Mercury), came about when in 2023 a label re-licensed The Honeydogs’ sophomore, fan favorite Everything, I Bet You on vinyl. As the band was writing liner notes and reminiscing long distance, Tommy, who had been working in music distribution, playing with The Old 97s’ Rhett Miller and living in Houston, suggested doing at least one show to celebrate this record’s twenty five plus year re-release.
Onstage the audience enthusiasm and band chemistry on that iconic First Ave stage got the band thinking about making a new record. “The twin guitar attack felt really great,” according to Adam, “It was good to have Tommy back—he’s got fire in his belly and we missed it…he’s always searching for the ‘Holy Grail’ of tone. He’s the salt to my pepper.”
All band members were invited to contribute to the sourcing of material for the newest record. The band selected a batch including two songs from Tommy, “Captain” and “Bend or Break.” This adds another cool dimension to the record since all previous Honeydogs records only featured songs by Adam. About recording in June 2024, Trent remembers “the band tracked fast, it was oddly comfortable, like the band had never stopped.”
“The way we play now, it’s a more relaxed band,” Noah reflects. “I mean, we’ve all done thousands of shows between then and now, with different people. I keep thinking about all the living that everybody’s done in that amount of time. It’s a whole generation later, and I think that informed the way we played, and the way we interact with each other. Everything came easier.”
This new album isn’t about launching a career or trying to sell a huge amount of records. “It’s about making music. It’s about friendship,” says Tommy. “It's out of genuine love for each other and the music.” Noah muses, “and it feels as good as anything we’ve ever done.”
Algebra For Broken Hearts Cover Art
Upcoming Tour Dates:
JULY
12 - Lutsen, MN @ Lutsong Festival
25 - Minneapolis, MN @ Green Room
26 - Delano, MN @ Rieder Homestead
Photo Credit: Jason Sands
