Honeyglaze Real Deal
Honeyglaze's Real Deal lands as a confident, often combustible sophomore statement that balances jagged fury with surprising melodic grace. Across professional reviews critics point to songs like “Don’t”, “Cold Caller” and “Pretty Girls” as the record's clearest high points, and the consensus suggests the band has widened its emotional range while sharpening its songwriting.
Critics consistently praise the tension between noise and beauty that threads through Real Deal. Beats Per Minute highlights how Sokolow's voice flips from fragility to snarling insistence on “Don’t”, with “Cold Caller” and “Ghost” supplying evocative choruses and twinkling arpeggios that temper the distortion. Clash Music celebrates the album's punchy immediacy and pop-tinged hooks on “Pretty Girls”, calling the record a mature leap that trades raw catharsis for sharper self-awareness. The Line of Best Fit emphasizes texture and dynamics, naming opener “Hide” and the visceral release of “TMJ” as moments where restraint gives way to fizzing climaxes. Across three professional reviews Real Deal earned an 80/100 consensus score, with reviewers noting growth, anger mixed with melancholy, and a clearer identity and femininity in the songs.
Not all takes are uniformly ecstatic; some critics point to moments of tentative transition from the live energy of the debut into studio polish, but the prevailing view frames Real Deal as worth attention for anyone asking whether the record is good. For readers searching for the best songs on Real Deal, “Don’t”, “Cold Caller”, “Pretty Girls” and “TMJ” repeatedly emerge as standout tracks, signaling Honeyglaze's musical maturation and the record's uneasy, compelling heart. Dive into the reviews below to explore how critics parse the album's heartbreak, isolation, and hard-won growth.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Don't
3 mentions
"Egged on by Shibuichi’s raging drums, Sokolow looks back in anger on ‘Don’t’"— Clash Music
Ghost
2 mentions
"‘Ghost’ follows a haunting love plagued by a yearning for reassurance and recognition."— Clash Music
Pretty Girls
2 mentions
"Pre-release ‘Pretty Girls’ is a heady, hook-laden track."— Clash Music
Egged on by Shibuichi’s raging drums, Sokolow looks back in anger on ‘Don’t’
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Hide
Cold Caller
Pretty Girls
Safety Pins
Don't
TMJ
I Feel It All
Ghost
TV
Real Deal
Movies
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
On Honeyglaze's Real Deal, the best songs are those that balance fury and tenderness, notably “Don’t” and “Cold Caller”. Eddie Smith writes with a clear admiration for tracks where Sokolow's voice twists from fragility to snarling insistence, making “Don’t” a focal point of the record. He also highlights “Cold Caller” and “Ghost” for their evocative choruses and twinkling arpeggios, which act as emotional counterpoints to the album's distortion and heft. The result is an album whose standout tracks reveal Honeyglaze's growth - they thrill when anger and melody converge, and soothe when they let their simpler charms breathe.
Key Points
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“Don’t” is the best song because it crystallizes the album’s merge of snarling anger and melodic control.
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The album’s core strength is balancing raw fury with refined songwriting and vocal fragility.
Themes
Critic's Take
Honeyglaze's Real Deal punches through with unsettled emotion and sharpened songwriting, and the best songs here are immediate - notably “Pretty Girls” and “Don’t”. Neve Dawson favours the hook-laden, pop-tinged bite of “Pretty Girls” for its daydream riff and sardonic lyrics, and celebrates the furious catharsis of “Don’t” as Sokolow literally raises a middle finger to wrongdoers. The quieter, haunted pull of “Ghost” is singled out too, its yearning chorus lingering after the album's final chords. Overall, the reviewer frames Real Deal as a mature, honest sophomore leap that teaches self-awareness while still making dark feelings sound good.
Key Points
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The best song, “Pretty Girls”, is praised for its hooky riff and sardonic, thought-provoking lyrics.
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The album's core strengths are mature songwriting, emotional catharsis, and a talent for making dark feelings sound good.
Themes
Critic's Take
Honeyglaze's Real Deal pushes the band beyond their tentative debut, privileging texture and tension while still mining moments of clear melodic payoff. The review privileges opener “Hide” as an arresting statement and singles out “Don't” and “TMJ” for emotional release, framing them as the record's most immediate, visceral moments. Emma Way's prose stays measured but admiring, noting how songs like “Cold Caller” and “TV” build from restraint into fizzing climaxes. The result answers searches for the best tracks on Real Deal by pointing to “Hide”, “Don't” and “TMJ” as the record's standout moments.
Key Points
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The best song, "Hide", is the record's arresting opener that marries beauty and dissonance to signal newfound confidence.
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The album's core strengths are its dynamic use of space, tension between noise and melody, and occasional cathartic vocal bursts.