Honeysuckle Strange - Howlin' Maggie (1996)

Here’s a deep cut if ever there was one. The track Alcohol on this album was a decent-sized hit in the alt rock space, and it was a fixture of my various mix tapes that I made–mix tapes either for stuff to play in car before i had a CD player in it, or for communicating to others how superior my musical tastes were. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost friends over the years just because they got tired of me insisting on playing them whatever song I was obsessed with at the moment.

My sporadically eidetic memory coughed up Alcohol a few months ago after not hearing it or even thinking about it for maybe 20 years. It’s firmly in one-kinda-hit-wonder territory, but worth a listen again.

The rest of the album is pretty good as well. They were in the Columbus, OH scene and members crossed paths several times with Afghan Whigs and Greg Dulli’s other projects. The sound is similar: suffocating guitar rock heavy on the pathos and neurosis, but with a great groove.

Tracks I Liked

Alochol - i mean, obv.

Promise To Be Happy and Motel Room are every bit as solid as Alcohol, but I hadn’t remembered either until this re-listen.