Brian Fallon released his third solo album, Local Honey, in 2020, and there was quite a bit of confusion surrounding the vinyl release. It all stems from the label (Lesser Known Records – which is owned by Fallon) choosing to do different variants that are all the basically the same color. Things got messier when it came time to figure out where these variants were being sold, and further details like if they are exclusive to certain outlets. As the marketing and distribution firm (Thirty Tigers) supporting this album provided convoluted and downright wrong information.
Let’s get this out of the way now before delving deeper into the finer details of the vinyl release. Local Honey is not a great album. I know that is not the popular opinion, but that is my opinion. That’s not saying Local Honey is a bad album. That’s not the case by any stretch of the imagination. Local Honey has a more mellow vibe than Painkillers and even Sleepwalkers, to the point where it’s almost boring. But you could see this transition happening on Sleepwalkers. It’s simply not my cup of tea, especially by comparison. You can also put it this way; Painkillers is more of a Gaslight Anthem album whereas Local Honey isn’t. Some people are also comparing this to a Horrible Crowes, which is apt. What further hurts Local Honey is that it’s a ridiculously short album; clocking in at around 32 minutes, with only eight songs.
As expected the demand for Fallon’s second solo album was high. To the point where despite the first pressing not selling out, a second pressing was done. The first pressing is where the confusion lies, and that pressing is what will be focused on in this entry. But if people would use common sense, or simply their eyes should they have normal vision, you could easily tell the difference between the two variants.
First up is the indie record store exclusive, which is on “honey.” The other variant is on translucent orange, and is not exclusive to anywhere. People initially assumed it was exclusive to Brian Fallon’s web store, and some went as far as to think it might be a pre-order exclusive. But once Amazon put up copies that second notion was squashed. People were also apparently led to believe that there was a black variant, but that is completely false. There was also a mention of someone receiving a copy from Amazon that had “clear orange” printed on the hype sticker, and I have questions about that person’s literacy skills. Now, after I explained all that, more confusion was sprinkled in about a “caramel” variant exclusive to the UK and/or possibly Europe as well. This turned out to also not be true, as the “caramel” variant is the same as the indie exclusive “honey” variant.
As just hinted, each variant has its own hype sticker, which denotes the variant. The indie exclusive “honey” has “honey” printed on it, while the mass retail variant has “translucent orange” printed on it. Once copies started making their way out into the world, Banquet Records tweeted out a picture of both of the variants side by side so people could tell the difference. The second pressing is planned to be released in October 2020 as part of the Ten Bands One Cause project benefiting Gilda’s Club, and as such will be pressed on pink vinyl. But the 2020 edition of the project will only feature 4 records instead of 10 because COVID-19 now apparently puts restrictions on how many different titles you can press on vinyl. Despite things like the Hey Arnold soundtrack getting re-presses.
All copies come housed in a gatefold jacket, with the record coming in a printed dust sleeve. There is spot gloss on the jacket and dust sleeve, which is everything that is printed in the gold ink. A download card/code is also included, but its for awful 160 kbps MP3s. Pressing info for any variant from either of the pressings has not been officially released. Yes, I’m aware that numbers are being floated around out there, but I do not trust them (the numbers), and as such I won’t re-post them here. Retail price on this is at least $22, which is steep for a single LP.
Typically I try to hold off on buying new releases until there is a sale that drops them beneath the price caps that I try to stay below. This method has worked out very well for me for years now. But with Local Honey, the desire to have a copy from the first pressing outweighed my desire to save a couple bucks. So the pressure was on a bit to find a copy from my usual go to places to ensure I actually got a copy from the first pressing instead of being sent a copy from the second because that is what the distro had and decided to send me without noting it was a different pressing.
That may sound odd, but the distro I lean on for good deals does a lot of shady things, like literally not refunding people their entire purchase price hoping the customer doesn’t notice. And it’s like pulling teeth dealing with their customer service, and this was pre-pandemic. But their deals are too good to pass up, they basically have a monopoly on the entertainment media distribution business, and I’m sure they’re well aware of this and is part of the reason why they’re shady, and getting shadier by the month.
Stitches and Grooves 