Yet another short-lived rock band with hard-to-google name, Honestly was a thing between 2003 and 2005. It was the kind of music I liked, but obscure around my neck of the woods, so of course I was obsessed with them.
It was a CD Baby purchase, of course. I did find them after they’d disbanded, of course.
At the time, my research (and the limited amount of online information) led me to believe some kind of crisis of faith was the reason for the dissolvement of the band, and many years later I’ve come to realise that, that really was the case.
Honestly (sorry), I can see why I liked them, forgot about them, and was immensely excited when I remembered them out of nowhere this week. The music is purely pop-rock with no gimmicks and wonderful melodies, and the lyrics are smooth and very relatable to the kind of dorky, self-proclaimed romantic teenager that I was.
I am glad I’ve grown out of the angst that made me relate to these songs (don’t judge—not every man does!), but I’m glad they were there in the background of my teen years.
Their second album—more like an EP—was edgier than the first one. The tempo and melody changes were more pronounced, and the lyrics were more confrontational.
My current research has given me more results than the last time, which was over 10 years ago. They weren’t on iTunes Store (and Spotify wasn’t even a thing), and their songs were only uploaded to YouTube in 2015.
However, I was surprised to find more information on an AngelFire-hosted fanpage, one of the very last remnants of what the web looked like back then—a very nice surprise.
And I wasn’t surprised at all that almost all band members had listed Sleeping at Last as an influence.