Earth, Wind, & Honeycut Makin' the Cut

Honeycut. Hmmm as in how they spiral slice ham?

When I gave these dudes a "Sleeper" in last week's Chronicle and compared lead singer Bart Davenport's velvet vocals to Shuggie Otis, I had no idea that the damn band covered "Strawberry Letter 23," I swear. I only knew that anyone with the vocal chops to trigger a Shuggie in my brain was all right by me. Their cover of that Shuggie classic (a big hit for the Brothers Johnson) was crazy. Spot on, but off enough to make it totally their own.

This Frisco combo – featuring manic Frenchy synth guy Hervé "RV" Salters (General Electriks), whose frantic footwork rivaled his killer brand of keyboard massacre – is a four-man nod to Parliament, Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Air, and the Chemical Bros. And I can't shake how much Davenport also sounds like Boz Skaggs ("Lido Shuffle" "Lowdown"). Oooh, and how much the big-ass bottom of hand drummer Tony Sevener (he uses an MPC) and (singer-songwriter in his own right) Etienne De Rocher joining the recording threesome live on bass, look like a stocky Johnny Depp and a 21st Century Joe D'Alessandro respectively. It was killin' meh. These freaky funk mobsters have rock god stamped all over them – all four seem born and bred for their individual tasks at hand.

The CD they hawk this time out: The Day I Turned to Glass on DJ Shadow's Quannum Records is a wicked traipse through the best white-boy soul (a genre that usually has me hugging the porcelain) I have heard in ages. Honeycut will play here in Austin once more before heading out of town: SF X SXSW Friday Party at Spiro's Outdoor Patio, 1pm (SXSW Badge/ Wristband).