Honey (Samia album)

Honey is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Samia. It was released on January 27, 2023, via Grand Jury Music. It serves as the follow-up to her debut album The Baby (2020).

Honey
Studio album by Samia
Released	January 27, 2023
Studio	Betty's (Durham, North Carolina)[1]
Genre	Pop indie rock
Length	40:06
Label	Grand Jury
Producer	Caleb Wright Rostam Batmanglij
Samia chronology
Scout (2021) Honey (2023)
Singles from Honey
"Kill Her Freak Out" Released: September 27, 2022 "Mad at Me" Released: November 1, 2022 "Pink Balloon / Sea Lions" Released: December 6, 2022 "Breathing Song / Honey" Released: January 24, 2023

Conception

During her interview with BrooklynVegan, when asked about her album, Samia said that: "This record is about learning to see the love around you" and also stated that "Sometimes the only thing I can be certain of is the way it feels. Even when I zoom all the way out, the little things matter the most. I was trying to imagine looking back at the end of life and what I'd have to say about it right now. This is a little bit of it. Telling stories, making amends, trying to show people I love them. It's a community record."^[1]

Singles

"Kill Her Freak Out" was released as the album's lead single on September 27, 2022. The single was accompanied by a music video, starring Lucas Hedges, released on the same day. "Mad at Me" was released on November 1, 2022, as the second single from the album. "Pink Balloon" and "Sea Lions" were released as a double single on December 6, 2022. Another double single, "Breathing Song" and "Honey", was released January 24th, 2023.

Style

The album has been called pop^[2] and indie rock.^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[4]
Metacritic	81/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
DIY	[2]
Exclaim!	8/10[7]
Gigwise	[8]
The Guardian	[3]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[9]
NME	[10]
Paste	6.3/10[11]
Under the Radar	7.5/10[12]

Honey received universal acclaim from music critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 based on 12 reviews.^[5] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.8 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.^[4] AllMusic's Marcy Donelson said "Whether autobiographical or a thought exercise, 'Honey' is evocative and often relatable, if in turn inevitably alienating and mercurial."^[6] Elly Watson from DIY stated that "Honey is a bright and inviting pop album that brilliantly captures the emotional snapshots of life."^[2] Writing for Exclaim!, Luke Pearson wrote that "Honey takes a traditional, southern-tinged folk foundation and successfully ventures out in various modern directions, allowing her [Samia] adroit lyricism to occupy a variety of spaces."^[7] Gigwise writer Lucy Harbron sees Samia as her "lyricism rings through as the top level of every track" and adding that "Samia's finest moments on Honey take you completely by surprise."^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Caleb Wright, except "Mad at Me" by Wright and Rostam Batmanglij.

Honey track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Kill Her Freak Out"	Samia Finnerty	4:20
2.	"Charm You"	Finnerty Nick Cianci	2:41
3.	"Pink Balloon"	Finnerty Wright Christian Lee Hutson	2:16
4.	"Mad at Me" (featuring Papa Mbye)	Finnerty Wright Charlie Hickey Rostam Batmanglij Papa Mbye	3:38
5.	"Sea Lions"	Finnerty Wright	5:19
6.	"To Me It Was"	Finnerty Hutson	3:59
7.	"Breathing Song"	Finnerty	3:13
8.	"Honey"	Finnerty Wright	3:23
9.	"Nanana"	Finnerty Hutson	3:44
10.	"Amelia"	Finnerty Wright Sam Rosenstone	3:41
11.	"Dream Song"	Finnerty Brenna Kassis Cam Schmidt Dawson Freeman Hannah Cole	3:46

Personnel

• Samia Finnerty – vocals
• Caleb Wright – production
• Rostam Batmanglij – co–production on "Mad at Me"
• Alli Blois – engineer
• Christian Lee Hutson – guitar, piano, vocals
• Jon Lindquist – drums
• Sam Rosenstone – keys and piano
• Joey Hays – drums
• Megan Mahoney – bass
• Mitchell Seymour – synth, piano, bass
• Dawson Freeman – guitar, vocals
• Cameron Schmidt – guitar
• Brenna Kassis – vocals
• Hannah Cole – vocals
• Papa Mbye – vocals
• Briston Maroney – vocals
• Jake Luppen – vocals
• Raffaella Meloni – vocals
• Sophia Matinazad and Jacqueline Justice – photography
• Sophia Matinazad – creative design
• Max Taeuschel – LP design

References

1. Pearis, Bill (September 27, 2022). "Samia announces new album & tour, shares "Kill Her Freak Out" video". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
2. Watson, Elly (January 25, 2023). "Samia - Honey". DIY. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
3. Cragg, Michael (January 20, 2023). "Samia: Honey review - Blackly Comic Indie-Rock Confessionals". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
4. "Samia – Honey". AnyDecentMusic?. January 27, 2023. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.
5. "Samia – Honey reviews and tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
6. Donelson, Marcy (January 27, 2023). "Samia - Honey". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.
7. Pearson, Luke. "Samia swings big on the sweet, striving Honey". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
8. Harbron, Lucy. "Thank You, Samia". Gigwise. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
9. Williams, Tom. "Samia - Honey". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
10. Kemp, Ella (January 26, 2023). "Samia – 'Honey' review: astute reflections on mid-20s malaise". NME. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
11. Chodzin, Devin (January 26, 2023). "Samia Finds Community But Loses Herself on Honey". Paste. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
12. Campbell, Caleb. "Samia - Honey". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.