honeyflowers - Shimmer (review)
From one of the most worldly and articulate RGV artists is a multifaceted indie-pop album with bold vulnerability and enchanting textures.
Score: 9/10
As a character, honeyflowers has sweet beta-male charm, but when it comes to his genre fluency and breathtaking textures, he’s all alpha. The RGV has never had an indie-pop figure with the vocal chops, glistening instrumentation, and cheesy appeal of honeyflowers’ Paolo Santiago. As youthful and innocent as the album sounds, it’s a serious testament to his mature vision and vast musical influences of decades past.
It wasn’t too long ago that Santiago was building a strong rapport with the UTRGV media influencers, before live music was indefinitely ended and his big shot at the DREAMS festival in March was cancelled. He adapted well to the setback and wrote Isolation Summer, a song about the covid-19 safety measures keeping him from his girlfriend and about the vilification of Asian-Americans like himself. The song gave him media attention from UTRGV-TV and KRGV — which allowed him to present the soul of his project and build around it. He plays a ukulele in the song to embrace a stereotype of his Filipino heritage, and it’s that kind of good-humored nature of himself that plays a major part of his project’s character. He knows how his origins can work against him, but he’s still proud enough to display it. He’s also a romantic underdog, but is confident enough to sing about it. After a slew of other singles, most notably Yellow Boy — a song about his perceived physical shortcomings — he’s made a name for himself and built anticipation for his debut album.
His influences include major figures like The Beatles and Kendrick Lamar but his sounds are world-devouring. Other than his Filipino inspirations and indie-pop core, he’s knowledgable in Spanish guitarwork, jazzy bossa nova chords, retro rap flows, formal singing, and what he’s learned as a theater major. This album is a great window into the mind of one of the most cultured and proficient singer-songwriter’s the valley has ever known.
The album is full of highlights and memorable moments. The walking pace, sunny guitars, and psychedelic synth arpeggios of The Meadow set the bar high for the soft, sentimental, and wholehearted nature of the album. The gorgeous vocal and guitar introduction of Flora, Darling. is the result of Santiago having an ear for isolating strong melodies and transcendental textures on par with Brian Wilson. The graceful slow burn of Imnotagoodsinger. turns to a vivid daydream of strings and bells before coming back to earth for a lonely acoustic ending. The most novel song of the album is the rap-infused Mr. Freeze with its campy synth-pop riff, funk guitars, and surprise dubstep finish. It’s awkwardly fun and shows a more upbeat side of honeyflowers. The piano-centric balladry of Me and My Shadow at the End of Time shows that throughout all the stunning moments, the greatest instrument is his voice.
Santiago’s quivering falsetto and desperate cry-outs are performed with formal intonation and relatable expression. Its soft, yet strong enough, to make would-be casual statements into grand declarations. Even the rap verses come with tight articulation and percussive emphasis. His voice pleasantly carries us through so many of his attributes like his clumsiness (“Sticking to my mind like Trident gum on my off-white shoes.”) — his physical inadequacies (“Sorry I gotta tippie-toe to tell you you’re so lovely.”) — and his sense of humor (“Amazing with my flow like water. Bruce Lee. Catch my fist of fury. Ha!”) The high-pitched wailing of Virgin is intense and angelic, properly matching the theme of being a born-again lover. Just the layered emphasis on the word “sorry” in Imnotagoodsinger. makes it hit so much harder.
Santiago has carved out a nifty niche for himself with his character to root for and his gracefully articulate indie-pop sound. There’s beauty surrounding the romantic ups and downs of Shimmer that can sometimes be taken for granted in life. While the emotional intensity drives the album forward, it makes us want to stop and smell the flowers.
Listen to Shimmer on Spotify below or click here for Apple Music
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