Album Review: Sherman Downey – Honey For Bees

A nice mug full of hot coffee can be exactly what one needs to start their day right. Newfoundland’s Sherman Downey and his debut album Honey for Bees have a similar effect. The album is chock full of positive vibes from beginning to the end. The way the vocals are delivered with some spunk and happiness, banjo, a little mild yodeling here and there, and soft percussion all give the listener a sense that Sherman loves what he does.

Performed with his band The Ambiguous Case, this album is heavy on folk with a dash of pop music thrown in there. The sounds of banjo, mandolin, guitar, harmonica, and drums blanket this album in soft folk. Sometimes the presence of banjos and mandolins can be overwhelming or overpowering, but not on Honey for Bees. They are there, but not at an ear bleeding level. A song like “Windowsill” almost makes you want to get down and do a little cha cha dance with it’s fun rhythms. Perhaps the strongest part of this album are the storytelling lyrics. A song like “Blue” paints vivid images of a character and all that he sees and feels.

For those of you who still buy physical copies of albums, the layout of Honey for Bees is enjoyable. The lyrics to all the songs are written out and complete with chords for if you decide you want to give a shot at playing the songs. The artwork has a nice vintage cartoon feel to it, but not over the top in anyway.

Everything about this album has a positive feel surrounding it. It is evident that Sherman Downey and the Ambiguous Case love what they do and hope you enjoy it too. Never take a ray of sunshine like this album for granted.

Sherman Downey will be performing at the In the Dead of Winter on January 26th at the Bus Stop Theatre. More details here: http://www.inthedeadofwinter.com/html/schedule.html. Watch for more IDOW coverage on the Broken Speaker in January.

Sherman Downey – Soulsweeping