Tom Honey’s music as Good Weather For An Airstrike is a sanctuary of inspiring drone, subtle field recordings and peachy ambience. Soulful, ever-gorgeous atmospheres ascend to high altitudes, creating music that cuddles the heart and soothes the eyes.
Honey originally began the project to help alleviate his tinnitus. The music aims to induce a relaxed state of mind that delivers us into deep, delta waves of sleep, absorbed in a deliciously dreamy atmosphere. Honey’s sonic palette has increased with Lights. Synths, strings, piano, and the addition of percussion – although short-lived – all make an appearance.
Falling in love with the music is easier than falling asleep (although only just.) The increased instrumentation may not have been entirely required, but it always raises a smile when an artist so bravely advances his sound. Honey’s music is so gorgeous that a change may not be needed – there’s plenty of space yet to explore. Lights illuminates a continuity and an evolution in the sound we know and love.
Free-falling loops reverse inwards on “A Quiet Day”, and Honey’s Eluvium-influenced loops can be heard right away. A clean, pure guitar melody slides along like light opening up white clouds and promising a fine day. Everything is set for a gorgeous ambient excursion, but Honey sends the music even deeper with the addition of light percussion, splaying the drums lightly over the ambience. Tinkling cymbals complement the light loops, and while the track carries strands of post-rock DNA, the music leans more on the side of ambient – with tints of percussion – instead of full-on post-rock.
Lights already sounds like a focused record, a well-rounded experience that’s both a progression and a slight departure from Underneath The Stars. Streams of water offer a first taste of a field recording, trickling over ambient rock pools and glistening in a soft haze of light. Snippets of recordings continue to float downstream on “Thinking of You”. Strings bloom outwards throughout, and there’s even the soft plucks of a banjo on “One Of These Days”.
“The King XXVI” may be the most beautiful minute of drone ever put on record. Ethereal voices drift in and out, ever-distant as if falling asleep on attractive airwaves. Even though it’s serene, it’s still an intense experience. Many mistake volume and intensity as one, but it’s usually a musical shush that really takes the breath away. Piano melodies shine a light onto the dazzling white keys, as smooth as a caressed touch. She’s shy, softly spoken, but it’s because of this that she pulls you in with a hushed passion. Love is all around Lights; it’s a warm haven for the spirit.
“An Ode To Fring” is another beauty, where spacious chord changes drift to the fore and then fall back, sliding vaguely into one another. This piece may be the highest of highlights, but in reality every track is a constant flow of serene light. The drums return near the end of “Rescue”, opening and closing Lights like a symmetrical, percussive symphony. Lights could be the clearest of days for a destructive strike; it’s music that would send peace streaming through the Middle East where a ceasefire is so desperately needed.
Like light jetting off a photographic lens, Lights shines distinct, vivid flares into our eyes, refracting halos of the spectrum amid a sunset sentimentality.
No clouds. (James Catchpole)
a closer listen 