LA rockers Dirty Honey are back and better than ever. On July 7th, the band released their newest single, Won’t Take Me Alive. Aside from the reimagined Heartbreaker 2.0 from January, there haven’t been any new tunes out of the Dirty Honey camp for quite a while. Well, I can assure you that after all this time and even a lineup change, this group has still got it – but what is “it”?
Any fan of classic rock of the ‘70s and ‘80s will give Dirty Honey a listen and immediately get that sense of the simplistic, straight-ahead grit that they’re so familiar with. You can mimic bands of yesteryear all you want, but what makes Dirty Honey so special is the consistent freshness that they bring to mesh with that retro sound. They’re also massively talented musicians, which doesn’t hurt either.
Won’t Take Me Alive is a very strong single to drop after a long break with no new material, and that can not be understated. If you really had to compare Dirty Honey to any other band, most would say Aerosmith, and that’s a great comparison when you consider John Notto’s guitar licks and Marc LaBelle’s vocals, but you can hear hints of Van Halen in this song with the guitar tone, deep-thumping percussion and overall ambience.
LaBelle’s voice is golden and sounds good as ever on this. Dirty Honey has never missed with a good hook, and him belting it throughout the tune is like candy for your ears. John Notto, a literal monster on the axe, holds the riff down and shreds a face-melting solo per usual. There’s definitely a lot more you can dissect, but just know that the DH boys are back and ready to destroy.
In a world where rock is considered “dead” to a lot of out of touch people, it is a blessing to know a band like Dirty Honey exists. The older folks can dig them for the nostalgia trip while the younger generation has a group that they can listen to and follow who are still rising to their prime. If anything, it’s an exciting time for rock. If you haven’t yet, go give Dirty Honey’s Won’t Take Me Alive a listen!