6/10

Following on from the release of their heavily-praised sophomore album 'Love Me / Love Me Not' in 2018, Honne have been taking it slow when it comes to creating their follow-up. But rather than force themselves into a creative spell, the pair have spent the last few months coming up with sporadic ideas that have seen them team up with Anderson .Paak collaborator Pomo as a way to work through some of these new concepts of theirs. But while their third album is still very much a work in progress, the group decided that now would be a good time to tide their fans over with this new mixtape 'no song without you'.

From the very start, it is clear that this is an unfinished and unpolished collection of songs. While there is still plenty of the romantic intentions and brooding sensibilities on here, the majority of this new release seems far more stripped-back than what we are used to from them, showing us more of the bare bones in their songwriting and just giving us a small taste of where they plan to venture sonically in the months ahead. But despite its sketchy and disconnected feel, there are still plenty of moments to get excited about on here, notably the more piano-led renditions such as 'by my side' and the title-track, showing us far more of their bold and humbled side.

The 'no song without you' mixtape may just be a transition period between 'Love Me / Love Me Not' and their next full-length, but it still shows some great potential for what we can expect when their next album drops. Some wonderful songwriting is spliced into this new record and gives us great hope for where they are moving to next.