“Can’t Find The Brakes” is Dirty Honey’s second record. Their first one put them on the rock map, and this album exudes the confidence of musicians who know they are good.
You can feel this certainty within the first 45 seconds of “Don’t Put Out The Fire.” The track evokes Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and The Black Crowes even before the first verse is completed. This is pure blues swagger. It’s classic rock at its finest. Dirty Honey is undeniably a great band.
This isn’t just a fluke either. “Won’t Take Me Alive” operates on the simple principle that its energy is bigger and funkier than yours.
“Every man has his vices – and Lord, I know you’re mine,” sings Marc Labelle on “Dirty Mind,” and the blues here is truly gritty. You can almost hear Chris Robinson singing this, to be fair.
The slide guitar on “Get A Little High” is a marvelous addition, and the confidence in this band will surely fill the stadiums they are playing with Guns N’ Roses. The same holds true for the slow-building “Roam,” and Marc LaBelle’s voice is truly impressive.
His perfect counterpart is guitarist John Notto, and even when they strip it all back, as they do on the lovely “Coming Home (Ballad Of The Shire),” it still sounds epic. It’s a gift.
“Can’t Find The Brakes” rouses the crowd and hooks you in. It’s akin to the confidence that Aerosmith exuded at their absolute best in 1975. When he says, “get down!” you’d better believe it.
With tracks like “Satisfied” and the high-energy “Ride On,” you can discern their influences, but that doesn’t matter a bit, given that Dirty Honey understands this just as much as you do.
At the end of it all, there’s the contentment of “You Make It All Right,” along with the thought that the world simply can’t be all bad. You can lock the world away and find solace in your music.
This album was recorded with Nick DiDa, who has previously worked with Bon Jovi. The irony isn’t lost that “Can’t Find The Brakes” is a classic rock record of the type that JBJ should be making but isn’t or can’t.
It’s a debate that people often have: “Oh, where are the new rock bands coming from?” Let’s face it, the old guard isn’t going to last forever. Dirty Honey seems more than willing to take up the challenge. You could even call them the next big thing, and I’m telling you now, they seem more than ready to embrace it.
Rating: 8.5/10
