Album Review: The Honeycutters 'Me Oh My'

Asheville’s The Honeycutters are set to releases their third album, Me Oh My, on Organic Records April 21st. The album contains fourteen songs all penned by vocalist Amanda Anne Platt who, for someone in her twenties, has an innate ability to write relatable, straightforward, and authentic lyrics. She is able to convey feelings and experiences so simply and honestly that the listener knows of what she is speaking. Those songs are fueled by the stellar instrumentation of her bandmates on dobro, mandolin, drums and pedal steel as well as Platt’s captivating vocals, ethereal and earthy, which deliver those words with a wisdom beyond her years.

Me Oh My deals with the traditional themes of love, heartbreak, and growth. Not taking things to seriously is the theme of opening track “Jukebox,” which immediately draws you into a place where you’ll remain throughout the record. The title track comments on the state of the modern woman while “Edge of The Frame,” about the push and pull of a relationship, has a fun cadence that counters the emotion of the lyrics. “I’m not looking for apologies/You say you’re sorry but you never mean it/Don’t make me ask you again because you’ll take anything you think you can and leave me only with myself to blame.”

The album also includes "Little Bird" which gained Platt notoriety as a finalist at MerleFest's prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (2011), “Texas ’81,” about the end of a relationship and the joyous “Wedding Song” about finding the person who “pieced me back together, kissed the hurting parts and made me new.”

“Not That Simple” beautifully expresses the hurt one feels when falling for someone you can’t have while “Carolina” focuses on leaving home behind in search of something more. “Aren’t you scared of growin’ old/Me, I’m burning like the dead leaves for something I’m sure I’ve never known.”

Personal favorite, “I’ll Be Loving You” may almost be six minutes long, but it’s one of those songs for which you will continually press “repeat.” Its melody and lyrics (“someday we’re gonna laugh about it, see our troubles in a different light”) are both uplifting and comforting. Closing the album is the sedate, delicate ballad “A Life For You.” In it, she sings of taking responsibility for the end of a relationship, yet still wanting that person to have a life filled with wonderful things, including a wife to “love you like I couldn’t do.”

Me Oh My, an extremely balanced album in terms of tempo and theme, merges Americana, roots, country and even honky tonk into a delightfully unique combination. It’s a highly recommended, refreshing and enjoyable listen from the first track to the last. 

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