The Honeydogs: Here's Luck

The members of the Minneapolis roots-pop band The Honeydogs have endured countless roadblocks on the way to the release of their new album, from fickle and/or folding labels to illness and line-up changes. Merger-related delays kept the finished product on hold for more than two years, but it's hard to imagine a recording less affected by the passage of time than Here's Luck, an inventively orchestrated, thoroughly endearing collection of smart, ageless songs. From the cluttered, stuttering "Red Dye #40" to the lush, string-laden pomp of "Wilson Blvd.," there's not a misstep on Here's Luck, and it improves as it progresses, recalling the piano-driven pop classicism of Joe Jackson and Ben Folds on the winning "The Crown." Singer-guitarist Adam Levy has spent many years as a social worker, and his empathetic songwriting lends depth to "Stonewall" and "Freak Show," while "Sour Grapes" finds intact the pure pop chops of The Honeydogs' best—and lamentably undiscovered—past singles. "I Miss You," a single from 1997's Seen A Ghost, found sleeper success on a number of radio stations long after the dissolution of the label that released it. With Here's Luck, another career peak from a band that continues to deepen and refine its sound, The Honeydogs should vastly exceed that modest good fortune.