In Honeysuckle’s “Canary” we float down into the depths of a coal mine on the wings of lead singer Holly McGarry’s voice. The song intrigued us enough that our first time covering it wasn’t enough. This time, a Spare Room Session features the trio’s melodic tale of darkness and light. “It’s about hope in a way,” McGarry says. Inspired by Bob Dylan’s “North Country Blues,” she wanted to write a “great story song.”
The video’s introduction gives us a sneak peak into the personality of the band; Benjamin Burns idly picks a perfect riff on his guitar, McGarry smiles and nods her head along with the music, and Chris Bloniarz screams “yeah!” from beneath a large afro and red-rimmed sunglasses. The light mood balances the more somber lyrics of the song, which detail the dangers of the mine: “Scorched throats sing funeral songs / and asked why they had been undone.” However, McGarry doesn’t leave us on our own too long. Just like the bird that lands lightly on a nearby tree branch in the video, the canary reminds us that we’re not alone: “Here in the dark no need to be scared / ‘cause I will be your guiding hand.”
Clever camerawork intersperses the musicians’ faces with shots of Bloniarz’s fingers caressing a mandolin solo and Burns’ scuffed up shoes pounding out the drumbeat. They’re clearly enjoying themselves, and the Spare Room Session invites us to be a part of that. With “Canary,” Honeysuckle beckons you to go see them live.