The Wild Honey Pie is proud to premiere “Don’t Say Shit You Don’t Mean,” the newest track from Richmond-based Buzzsession alums and Larabar enthusiasts Camp Howard. Both precise and seemingly effortless, the track grooves with an intensely lazy energy. It’s a sound that should be sloppy, but this young band’s relentless performance schedule has trained them well. Camp Howard has, in many senses, broken out of their hometown—they toured nationally with the legendary Stone Temple Pilots—but they’re still rooted firmly in the Richmond scene, a scene whose support allowed them to forge their sound in the fires of the opportunity to (or perhaps struggle to) play shows every night of the week. Though evident from one song alone, the band’s versatility is truly unmistakable with perspective on their whole catalogue. Nic Perea, one of the bands two singers, occasionally pens lyrics in Spanish—and other band members admit to singing backup on lyrics they don’t pretend to understand—but “Don’t Say Shit You Don’t Mean” is as clear-cut and direct as they come. Weston Parker, the other lead vocalist and writer of the track, draws firm lines after issuing the titular command—“I won’t cook / You won’t clean,” he sings, delineating responsibilities definitively, before waffling a bit, expanding his lines to fit in his more complicated emotions. “After all this wasted time / It’s doubtful that you even care,” he sings hurriedly, but the infections groove puts complex emotions aside to reinforce the chorus: “It’s alright.” Camp Howard’s new album Cañón is out October 11th.

Up-and-coming singer and multi-instrumentalist Zigi Porter, who operates under the moniker Darcie, strikes an inimitable balance between subtlety and spaciousness with her minimalist songwriting and maximalist production style. The eclectic, Manchester-based solo artist’s recently released track “Modern Day Housewife” captures the essence of what makes her both a no-nonsense storyteller and a mystical tour de force. The song is an artful, left-of-center rumination on the life and unbending expectations of millennials. With down-to-earth yet unapologetically honest phrasing like, “We are we are / Cosmetically / Replacing our brains” Porter points to the ways in which our obsession with constantly improving our outward appearance is rapidly contributing to our inevitable demise. Although this phenomenon affects each and every one of us, female and feminine-identifying people often feel a certain pressure to build up these fabricated, social-media-constructed personas. That being said, Porter doesn't use any gender-specific language other than the term 'housewife' which she adapts in an all-inclusive way. Porter’s lyrics might appear overly critical on the surface, but it’s important to keep in mind that as a young millennial woman she is highlighting problems that she herself faces. “Modern Day Housewife” is a communal effort to help us all understand ourselves in this current day and age a little better. Darcie’s ethereal, lo-fi pop-soul sound is truly genre-bending and impossible to classify—there is nothing else like it. Look out for Darcie’s debut EP Conversations with a Hot Dog due for release at the end of July.

L. Martin's newest single "Summer" leads with zippy punches of synth and his effortlessly entrancing voice, as he sings of the prospect of grasping onto something that will not be transient. Formerly the vocal front runner of indie-rock five-piece, The Walters, L. Martin, (a.k.a. Luke Martin Olsen), continues to create art with vigor on his own time. When inquired about the meaning of "Summer," he responded: “It’s essentially about my experiences in the music industry that have made me rethink its importance in my life”. Balancing optimism instrumentally and slight discontent lyrically, the track tugs us in with its initial 80’s feel-good sound and holds onto us with its meaningful draw. L. Martin will be releasing his EP, KICKS, which is promised to be equally as energetic as this single on August 9th.

London-based Arlo Parks’ twitter bio reads “poetry baby with a little side of soft rock,” and that is truly the best descriptor of the 18-year-old singer/songwriter’s sound. Her latest single, “george,” is a perfect example of this—blending elements of jazz, R&B, and soft rock together with some masterful lyricism to create an ambient, magnetic track. Parks’ newest song was named for the famed English poet and notorious narcissist and heartbreaker, Lord George Gordon Byron, and his legacy is reflected in the poetry of Park’s lyrics and her message on reckless loving. Her story builds as she describes the mess a careless lover can leave behind and stays grounded in both the melodic anchor of the guitar riff that plays coolly under her vocals and the arresting visuals Parks creates. Vivid colors appear all over the track—rose quartz, purple rose petals tracked around a pool, powder blue walls—creating a more complete sensory experience than we have any right to expect from a song. Parks hauntingly illustrates the marks her lover leaves, singing, “you leave a bit of blood in every room,” and describes how those marks linger with her somber chorus line, “I know that you’ve been here.” Arlo Parks reveals wisdom beyond her 18 years, but “george” also proves that the intensity of these feelings is something that transcends age as well as era.

Imagine you’re driving down a long, wooded road in the middle of a calm summer day. The sun is shining, there are no other cars around, and the lush green trees trick the light into casting prismatic shadows across everything around you. Then, the perfect song comes on your queue: it’s indie rock trio Ritual Talk’s dreamy new single, “If.” The otherworldly soundscapes, psychedelic guitar riffs, and shimmering synths are reminiscent of nature’s hypnotically effortless beauty. Slapping drums push the song forward with vigor and optimism, and the hopeful melody, luminous in the form of singer Alex Desimine’s soothing vocals, feels like the sun coming through the clouds after rain. “If I hold my breath for another second more / fall to the floor,” he sings in the chorus, and his vocals drift off naturally into the arrangement, almost as if they had been born out of it. “If” is a vivid, atmospheric daydream, and it’s Ritual Talk’s best work yet.