The Act: NEON WALTZ

The Release: 'HONEY NOW'

The Formats: STANDARD VINYL / BONE COLOURED VINYL / COMPACT DISC / DIGITAL

The Release Date: SEPTEMBER 1ST (vinyl arriving October 6th)

The Digital Link: orcd.co/honeynow

The Physical Link: neonwaltz.lnk.to/honeynowshopFA

The Tracklisting:
1 'Honey Now'
2. 'As Good As Gone'
3. 'The Stranger Things'
4. 'A Million People'
5. 'Birthday'
6. 'Thoughts / Dreams / Regrets'
7. 'All I Need'
8. 'All In Good Time'
9. 'When All Is Said And Done'
10. 'This Time Next Year'

The Truth: Scottish indie-rock dreamboats NEON WALTZ have releases their second studio album ‘Honey Now’ on fierce panda. There has been a seismic shift in the Neon Waltz band DNA since the release of their 2017 debut ‘Strange Hymns’. Somewhat bolstered by the onset of a global pandemic and changes in the band’s set-up, they seized the opportunity to completely reinvent themselves and find new ways of recording, writing and producing sensationally emotive music.

In Freswick Castle, 3 miles away from their hometown of John O’Groats in the very top of Scotland, they recorded 'Honey Now' with the help of Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice) and Tarek Musa (Spring King, Dead Nature). The album was initially birthed from the band’s disillusions with the music industry and what seemed like everyone involved in it. But through the creation of this album and gaining full artistic freedom, it gave them a fresh new outlook. Many of the songs reflect changing mindsets or accepting things as they are, whether it’s regarding people you love (‘When All Is Said and Done’) or accepting changes in yourself (‘Honey Now’).

There’s also a pep-talk in the form of the gorgeous track ‘Birthday’ which carries a very simple mantra - keep things simple and do only your very best. Meanwhile the soaring first single ‘Thoughts / Dreams / Regrets’ shows that flipping a situation to see it as the closing of one door and the opening of another is a better way of thinking. The end result is an intelligent, intimate sophomore collection of songs suitable for the bedsit and the stadium stage as well as all pints in between. FFO: Beach Boys, Teardrop Explodes, Mercury Rev, Grizzly Bear, genuinely great songwriting.

The band say about the album: “It’s normally such a cliché to say that the 2nd album is the most difficult, but it feels right to say that about 'Honey Now'. Circumstances change, and as a band we became 4 instead of 6. We had to learn to write, record and perform in a totally alien way. 'Strange Hymns' was recorded as a 6-piece band, all in one room, take-after-take until we had it.

"This time round we had to shake that up and figure out different ways to bring these songs to life – a whole new creative process, born out of necessity as much as anything else. The pandemic also affected the process immensely. We probably would have had a different set of songs recorded and released if Covid never came along. Our fans have stuck by us and we can’t wait to share this album with them."

An album filled to the brim with larger-than-life indie anthems and roaring choruses, it sets a new precedent for Neon Waltz. The beginning of a brand new chapter for the band, in fact. To celebrate the release of 'Honey Now', the quartet will be embarking on a UK wide tour this October, including a show at London’s MOTH Club on Friday 6th October. Tickets on sale now. www.neonwaltz.com/live

UK tour dates:

Tuesday 3rd October | YES Basement, Manchester
Wednesday 4th October | The Lobby @ Camp & Furnace, Liverpool
Thursday 5th October | The Horn, St Albans
Friday 6th October | MOTH Club, London
Sunday 8th October | The Boileroom, Guildford
Monday 9th October | Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield
Tuesday 10th October | Think Tank, Newcastle
Wednesday 11th October | The Mash House, Edinburgh
Thursday 12th October | Oran Mor, Glasgow

Wednesday November 1st | Shepherds Bush Empire, London (with Inhaler)
Thursday November 2nd | Blackpool Empress Ballroom (with Inhaler)

Neon Waltz are:
Jordan Shearer (Vocals)
Kevin Swanson (Guitars)
Jamie Swanson (Guitars)
Darren Coghill (Drums & Percussion)