No Song Without You

Just before the pandemic hit, HONNE—the London-based duo of James Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck—were on a quick jaunt to LA, and landed in the studio with Anderson .Paak collaborator Pomo, aka Vancouver producer/songwriter David Pimentel. The session yielded “no song without you,” a heartfelt, soft-focus ballad that would not only signal the band’s first new music since 2018’s Love Me / Love Me Not, but also spur this mixtape, which is meant to tide fans over until HONNE’s proper third LP. When they got back to the UK and found themselves in lockdown, the downtempo vibes just kept flowing—as did lovey themes, like on so much of their past work. But there’s a subtly rougher edge to the production here, and bouncy tracks like “free love” and “loving you is so easy" benefit from that intentional rawness, giving them the crackly hue of ’60s and ’70s AM pop hits. Just as fun are the tiny song sketches scattered throughout, such as “iloveyoumorethanicansay” and the particularly apropos “s o c i a l d i s t a n c i n g,” on which they croon lines to a lover like “It’s a fucked-up reality/But stay the hell away from me” over lo-fi boom bap.