Review | Honeymoon Suite – Wake Me Up When The Sun Goes Down

Frontiers Music srl

For some 40 years plus Canadian rockers Honeymoon Suite have been around (there was a hiatus though). Since their reunion the group around singer Johnny Dee and guitarist Derry Grehan released two albums (‘Hands Up’ and last year’s ‘Alive’) where the band who is also consisting of drummer Dave Betts, bass player Gary Lalonde and keyboardist Pete Nunn, stayed loyal to their original sound that first was introduced around 1984. Honeymoon Suite had some hits, their first 4 albums were excellent, they toured with some big names and even visited Europe.

A MODERN CONTINUATION

As was the case on ‘Alive’ Honeymoon Suite has not changed a lot in their musical style and approach. The boys have managed to improve their production, sounding reasonably modern, hard enough to keep the attention of their old fans, but also working on a certain ‘radio friendly’ sound in the hope to get through to a larger audience. In fact, ‘Wake Me Up When The Sun Goes Down’ is a modern continuation of a trade they have been practising for all this time.

HONEYMOON SUITE – THE CONCLUSION

This album is very balanced but also very short. Not one song is longer than 3.45 minutes. That means that with only ten songs on the album the total play time is rather short, a bit too short if you ask me. Especially when you see that the prices for music (CD, vinyl) are nowadays rather steep. You would expect at least a decent amount, of minutes. A bit of value for your money is the least an artist should offer to their audience. I find that a bit of a letdown. On the other hand, there is not much wrong with the album.

The songs are maybe with the exception of ,,Unpredictable’’ very much up to scratch. Johnny Dee sings better than he ever did, Grehan is a brilliant guitarist (listen to his solo on ,,Live On’’ and ,,Ever Leave You Lonely’’) and the record offers a clear and perfect picture of what Honeymoon Suite is about. Fans will lap this up as it seems to me that Grehan and Dee as main composers know exactly what their fanbase wants to hear. Funny, but just as I really start to get into the Honeymoon Suite mood the party is already over. That is something that needs improving!

Release date: 25 July 2025