Once upon a time The Honorary Title served as a transformational musical intersection for me, blending teenage love for emo music and burgeoning adulthood love for indie/folk into one clean experience. At one point in my life they may have been my favorite band, and at the same point in my life I’m confident one of my dreams was to one day be able to sing like Jarrod Gorbel.
It’s been years since I’ve listened to this album but I was still able to recite 75% of the lyrics directly from memory.
All this is to say Anything But The Truth was a pretty impactful record in my life and nearly twenty years later it feels as fresh as it once did smoking cigarettes behind the back of 7-11 figuring out where the party was gonna be that weekend. Anything Else but the Truth is timeless in a way that early/mid 2000’s indie rock always seems to be, taking pieces of 90’s alternative rock and blending them in with traditional country elements to form something simple and straightforward and pure.
The Honorary Title doesn’t do anything revolutionary musically, but they do cover a ton of ground in their arrangements– no two songs sound quite the same, but every single song sounds very much like they came from the same band. I think that’s one of my favorite things about them. They have an innate ability to be eclectic while always sounding cohesive.
Grobel’s vocal approach stands out in this regard in particular. He has an over-the-top theatrical approach at times, but it never feels put-on, and when he settles in to a softer narrated voice it feels equally authentic. Two decades after its release that feeling of authenticity shines through as bright as it ever did.
Plus that cover art is pretty dope, too.
Standout Songs: “Everything I Once Had”, “Frame by Frame”, “Bridge and Tunnel”
