Love Me/Love Me Not in Bloomington, MN

Plucking the petals off the flower one by one, English duo
Honne
tackle love and loss on their neon-washed sophomore release,
Love Me/Love Me Not
. Combining hip-hop beats, electronic atmospherics, and soulful R&B-inspired vocals, the Japan-obsessed pair split the set neatly into two halves. Love Me is youthful, romantic, and understandably naive, capturing the carefree and pure feelings of new love. Here, the
Daft Punk
, glitter-funk of "Me & You" and the heartfelt "306" are standouts, while the remaining tracks maintain a chilled-out, jazzy vibe. On the flipside, Love Me Not offers more emotion and, surprisingly, excitement, channeling the pain and tears of heartbreak into smooth, fleshed-out visions of mourning. "Location Unknown" skitters along an urgent beat, sounding like
the Chainsmokers
stumbling through Shinjuku after last call, while "Sometimes" wipes a tear from the eye with an honest confession and cathartic clarity. The highlight of this half of the album is "Crying Over You," a gorgeous duet with
BEKA
that champions reconciliation and offers hope.
is a conceptual step forward for
and a compact journey through the highs and lows of love, instantly relatable to anyone who's ever experienced such a human journey. ~ Neil Z. Yeung