Honne – “Didn’t I” (Stereogum Premiere)

Honne – “Didn’t I” (Stereogum Premiere)

Honne are a British duo who knocked me right off my feet last year when they released “Warm On A Cold Night” — go listen to that right now then come back. OK, so after releasing that track b/w “Baby Please,” they put out another two-song EP called All In The Value. Today we’re announcing their next release — the four-song Coastal Love EP — and premiering “Didn’t I.” The track is a cover of Darondo’s song of the same name, a blown-out, breathy take on the original’s classic soul sound. “Didn’t I” rests somewhere between the pleading disbelief that your loved one is actually gone, and the unsettling reality that you did all you could to keep them. It’s a whirring, regretful song with just enough perspective to skip self-blame and settle right into nostalgia. Here’s what they had to say about the cover:

A couple of months ago a close friend of ours introduced us to “Didn’t I” by Darondo and we fell in love it. We love the charm of the original, how raw the recording is and how unusual and striking his vocal performance is. But the lyrics and melody in particular struck a chord with us and we felt that it could work really well as a Honne cover, so we gave it shot. Hopefully we’ve done it justice.

Listen to it:

Interestingly enough, the title track from their new EP “Coastal Love” also features vocals from Wilsen.

Coastal Love EP is out 5/4 via Tatemae. Pre-order it here.

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