Following the release of their latest single ‘Laugh about it’, LOCK has the pleasure of catching up with London band Just Like Honey to discuss their new single and future plans.
Hi, Just Like Honey, welcome to LOCK. For our readers, could you please tell us a little about yourselves?
Hey we go by Just Like Honey, my name’s Emily and I sing and play guitar, the band members have been changing over the years as life gets in the way and growing up. We are based in London and have been doing lots of gigs around here.
Your latest single “Laugh about it” feels like a gentle confession wrapped in dreamlike textures. What first sparked the idea for this song?
I usually write my songs on acoustic guitar in my bedroom, very stripped back, when I’m feeling down about something. I was frustrated about feeling that people aren’t always really human in the way that they don’t express their true feelings or get shut down for crying or other natural feelings. And I always suppress my feelings like anxiety, and people have different coping mechanisms for it, but it doesn’t really seem real, I don’t know haha. So it’s kind of about escaping and not feeling the fear or being authentic, but sometimes it is easier to just laugh about it, and I think a lot of people feel like that now.
The track explores the act of disguising sadness or anxiety behind a smile. Why did this emotional theme feel important for you to capture right now?
My lyrics will always have meanings, to me anyway, and hopefully to others, but sonically i just love any dreamlike textures, i just love it, the more reverb and delay the better. This song, originally before going into the studio, was a lot more gritty and grungy when playing live, which I think it still is, but I couldn’t resist when recording to add that Just Like Honey sound to it. It makes it easier to listen to whenever and keep the drifting, nostalgic feeling.
Swirling guitars and atmospheric textures are central to your sound. What sonic references or influences emerged during the creation of “Laugh about it”?
People have said ‘Laugh about it’ sounds very Nirvana, who I’m a big fan of. A big influence of ours are the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and I think you can hear that a lot in ‘Laugh about it’ with the psychedelic swirling guitars, also Slowdive.
Many people will resonate with the idea of “faking being okay.” What conversations do you hope this song might open up among listeners?
I guess I hope the song makes people recognise this problem and to feel more open about their feelings and talk about it instead of hiding. And encouraging people to be their true selves more, without worrying about what people think.
You’re known for blending shoegaze haze, grunge grit, and dreampop softness. How did you approach balancing those elements on this song?
Like I said, ‘Laugh about it’ naturally has that grungy feel when I play it acoustically, and I also play an acoustic in the recording, but with my vocals and help from our producer Pete Robertson, we blended it with more atmospheric sounds to give it that dreamy, moody aspect and layering guitars.
How do you feel “Laugh about it” reflects where Just Like Honey is creatively at this moment in your journey?
I wrote this song about 3 years ago, but it’s one of our core songs that represent us as a band right now, and it’s only our second release.
What can fans look forward to next, more singles, an EP, perhaps live shows?
There’s another single coming soon called ‘Broken shoes’, and both of these songs will be part of an EP coming out next year, and more gigs and festivals, of course.. stay tuned