Honey for Bees

Remember this name: Sherman Downey. The Codroy Valley native has been playing music for quite a while, but his first album, Honey For Bees, is going to turn him into a household name. With thick dreadlocks and a disarming stage presence, Downey unexpectedly puts you at ease. Honey For Bees is a collection of original sounding, feel-good music that will actually put you in a better mood, unlike the current crop of cookie-cutter pop music that gives you a brief high and a rough crash. Downey is clearly having so much fun on the album that his happiness is infectious. The songs are simple enough for anyone to appreciate. It’s infused with stellar musicianship woven with rather magnificent lyrics that somehow turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. Downey’s band, the Ambiguous Case, creates an acoustic rock arrangement that works. He exhibits guitar mastery as well as expert whistling and yodelling. The record has a foot-stomping country groove, but it cannot be easily classified. Songs like “Indifferences Lay Waiting” lean towards a more acoustic direction, while there are elements of bluegrass, pop, and rock within the layers of his other songs that creates a satisfying piece of work. It’s too bad that at only 35 minutes long, Honey For Bees is not much longer than an EP, but it still gives a very good taste of what we can expect from Sherman Downey. It’s a great thing when, after listening to an album, you want to hear more.
-Ryan Belbin