Honey Circuit

Now, there's a subtle art to taking disparate elements and combining them into a hypothetical glorious new whole. There's more to combining world music genres than simply layering different styles on top of each other like clothing.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what HoneyCircuit sounds like right now – a band that's gone rummaging through a musical secondhand shop, picking up pieces willy-nilly without realizing that not every style is a peanut butter longing for its chocolate. The result is a sometimes strangely uncomfortable blend of the organic and the electronic. Rather than smoothly blending together, like when Enigma was still cool, the elements stand out and never really mesh. Kara Trott's lovely haunting vocals, somewhat glitchy electronics, and tribal drums all in one song, just end up turning into a sort of sonic word jumble.

The shame is that there's talent to spare here. Each of the different elements is well-done and lovingly crafted. Trott's voice is ethereal, perfectly suited to the new age style. The strings are nice, and the middle eastern influences work well with her voice. They've got some great beats, and know how to work the glitchiness.

But you don't have to do them all at once, guys!

That said, their everything-and-a-belly-dancer approach is fairly charming in small doses. If you're a DJ or looking to set the mood in a chillout room with a few slightly unusual picks, HoneyCircuit probably has a song or two that fits your theme.

And no doubt with their large ensemble, variety of instruments, and live performance show aspects, they'll have a future on the festival scene for some time to come. Trott's voice alone could carry them to stardom on the New Age \ World Music circuit, and with the mixture of talent in the group, their potential is nearly unlimited.

Right now, this is a group bursting with more ideas than they know what to do with. Until they learn to focus a bit more, they're unlikely to be more than a spectacle band and a go-to source for chillout playlist filler.

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