Fear, rebellion, and all the feels in between, Pale Honey’s newest album made me feel nothing far from just that. 

Pale Honey is an indie-rock trio from Sweden. Their newest album, Some Time, Alone, was something new for the band. I loved how this album introduced a darker and heartfelt tone to the band considering in the past, their music was quite simple. 

As the album played from my phone speakers, the feeling of indisposition grew stronger and stronger. The feeling reminded me of a trip my family went on years ago. During the drive back from Massachusetts, we were in the mountains–very high up. A storm was impending; immeasurable, ink-black clouds were all that I could see on the horizon. Despite my family being around me, the storm, and the darkest clouds I have ever seen, caused a feeling of melancholy to wash over me. 

The trio’s most recent album is less about being fragile and more about having a voice and the fact that it is okay to show emotions. The album opens with the song “Some Time, Alone.”  It has a unique and upbeat tone—drums, reverbed guitar, and striking vocals. 

The first three songs out of the ten tracks on the album were completely different from the rest. Pale Honey incorporated many different instruments to make these songs feel alive. 

From the fourth song, “Beat Me,” to the end of the album, a darker element was added. “Heaven Knows How Far I’ve Gone” and “Killer Scene” amplified the melancholy feeling but felt as though something was off—it felt as though something bad had just happened, but nobody realized. 

Just as I thought the album would continue to get darker, “Set Me Free” interferes. The feeling of heavy anticipation is no longer. Yeah, the song might’ve ruined the mood and flow of the album a bit, but “Set Me Free” was, by far, my favorite song off of Some Time, Alone. 

“These are things we can’t control.”

“Why can’t I never get it right?”

“Will I ever get it right?”

The lyrics in “Set Me Free” remind me of the tone Pale Honey envisioned for this album—less fragility and standing up for what is right—halfway through the album, just before the vibe changes to the sad and moody tone. 

“Trouble is the Only Thing I Know” sounds like something you would hear during an action scene of a coming-of-age film—the main characters running in the middle of an empty street at night with the dim, yellow, street lights casting a shadow onto the cold, wet pavement.

The trio wrapped up the album with the tenth and final song, “3 Am”. Unlike the others, it had a soothing element to it that made me feel less alone. With the chill tone and soft vocals, those same main characters were now lying on the very same cold, wet pavement in the middle of the abandoned street reminiscing about the good times. 

The songs featured on Some Time, Alone exude feelings of sadness and uncertainty, but I connected with this album on such a deep and personal level. The small, underground, trio from Sweden is, without a doubt, talented and deserves the world.