Mad Honey Achieves Individuality Via Thought-Provoking Shoegaze On Vulnerable ‘Bridge Over Cumberland’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

As humans, we have an inherent desire to connect with those around us. These relationships shape our social interactions and influence us in ways we may not realize, each moment subconsciously ingrained in our decision-making. The people we decide to keep in our lives come with the weight of influence, but unfortunately, these wildly important relationships never hold the staying power they promise. We are all made up of the mistakes, triumphs, and losses that come with building a connection with someone, and how these lessons linger in future relationships. When someone decides to exit your life entirely, their presence takes on a ghostly aesthetic, leaving a void they once filled, and a rush to fill it ensues. 

That moment of panic after your support system wanders out of your physical space, and the way they stick around mentally, is at the heart of Bridge Over Cumberland, the third album from OKC shoegaze outfit Mad Honey. Since debuting in 2018, the five-piece band has built a reputation for experimentation, crafting an adventurous discography that, while enticing, rarely landed near consistency or singularity. Bridge Over Cumberland, however, marks a refreshing, necessary turning point for Mad Honey. These eleven mesmerizing examples of raw, vulnerable, hazy shoegaze pinpoint the poetic songwriting of vocalist and guitarist Tuff Sutcliffe, while pushing Mad Honey’s sonic terrain in a direction they can call their own. 

Bridge Over Cumberland captures the moment Mad Honey’s need for catharsis catches up to their lofty sonic visions. Not nearly as exploratory as 2024’s DISCORDIA, and much more ethereal than 2023’s Satellite Aphrodite, the band landed somewhere completely outside of expectations, and their new trajectory is a far more enthralling one. This tracklist dips into lush, heartbreaking balladry, like on the painful, longing-fueled “Somehow,” only to send the listener into the void of an instrumental cut like “Natchez Trace Parkway,” almost as if to allow the listener a moment to ponder the heaviness of this record. These moments of meditation, as also seen on the lo-fi bliss of “Leiper’s Fork,” make way for more emotionally twisted moments, like the ghostly longing explored on “Two Boyfriends.” While the songs mentioned are highlights of the listen, Bridge Over Cumberland offers a far more in-depth listening experience than these songs do separately. 

Mad Honey crafted a cinematic, immersive, captivating tracklist so unencumbered by any glitz or falsities that it can’t help but stick to the sides of your soul. Each moment of this album bleeds into the next, with careful consideration not to drag too much of the past along. It is in these moments, like when the palpable warmth of the album opener, “I Am a Wall, I Am a House” eases into the otherworldly atmosphere of “James Gets His Rose” when the marriage of Mad Honey’s need to unleash their feelings and the slow-burning swells of the arrangement truly shine, and the underlying themes of Bridge Over Cumberland connect to paint a vibrant portrait of yearning. These paintings stem from Sutcliffe’s brutally honest songwriting, as her visions become more felt with every listen, as on the stunning “Past Together Isn’t Presence.” 

Mad Honey is a name that has been buzzing around the burgeoning shoegaze scene for years, but their latest LP feels like the moment we’re properly introduced to the band. Bridge Over Cumberland finds the band discovering their sonic identity by revealing deeply personal truths, proving that the most memorable music always comes from deep in the soul of those who create it.