- Bryon Harris
Karen Bella - "Jack Honey"
Review by Daniel Deprè
“Jack Honey” is a song with two sides to it and both are vibrant and well arranged. It’ll remind you of being at your favorite bar with your favorite people on a Friday night, having lots of fun. The song bounces back and forth between laid-back sections and in-your-face rockin’ grooves. The dynamic range makes this an impressive showcase for Karen Bella. This is classic country rock and it’s packed to the brim with attitude.
Lyrically this song is about intimacy and giving into those deep desires. Singer Karen Bella is also singing about how much we can get lost in another person, and how that ultimately ends up changing us. The lyrics are a perfect balance of fun but also deeply personal and relatable. “You’re not an outlaw but if you were I’d be your pistol switch”. There are also many instances of tasteful innuendo where she expresses the strong attraction she felt for this badass cowboy. “Didn’t want the others to know how I got to feel the angle of your sculpted features in every way”.
The arrangement brings the power for this song as well as the awesome contrast between the two levels of energy. The track begins with the feeling of being on a calm stroll. Plucking acoustic guitar and ambient slide guitar play over a light-sounding electronic drum kit. Shortly after this begins the heavy drums and thick and growling guitars come in to bring the punch. The chorus is really where the song soars as the guitars let loose. Karen Bella also sings with such confidence and amazingly bends her vocals upwards much like a guitar does. It’s incredible how smooth the transition is from the big chorus back to the chill vibe that was established with the intro. “Jack Honey” is the type of song that will bring out the inner badass in you and it’s an awesome reminder to have fun with this short life we’re given.
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About Karen Bella
Karen Bella is one of the hardest working singer-songwriters in the business, and after enduring 2020 filled with setbacks, many may say she is also one of the most resilient. Pre-Pandemic, she performed eight to 10 shows a week in the tri-state area, playing such notable venues as the Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, the Landmark Theater in Port Washington, Great South Bay Music Festival, and the Philadelphia Music Festival. Despite her busy schedule, she still had time to write, record, and release her debut album and perform high-profile shows that not only earned her a VIP audition for NBC’s The Voice, but she was also named a Sam Ash Music Store “Spotlight Artist,” and she has been an official Fishman endorsed artist since 2019.
In March of 2020, Bella was set to release her new, self-titled, six-song EP, produced by Josh Dion of Paris Monster, and premiered it live at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on March 13, 2020, the night before the world stopped due to Covid-19. Following the performance, she suffered a broken wrist requiring surgery and several months of therapy, and then she contracted Covid-19. Deciding to put the album release on hold, Bella focused on getting healthy.
Now the EP is being released to radio and getting the attention it deserves. Though every song has a different twist stylistically, the production team and musicians worked hard to craft a consistent, crisp, authentic, timeless, and even dreamy sound.