Honor By August

For acclaimed modern rock quartet Honor By August there is a lot in a name. The August in the Washington, D.C.-based bands name refers to another interpretation of the word: to inspire awe or admiration. Taken as a whole, Honor By August means earning honor by doing something admirable or awe-inspiring. The name informs our music in several ways. We all believe in doing things the right way, with integrity, and making music that comes from a place of true inspiration, says lead vocalist/guitarist Michael Pearsall. On their latest release, the stunning Monuments To Progress, the band does just that. Honor By August delves soulfully deep and delivers its finest collection of emotionally charged contemporary rock.

Honor By Augusts poetic sincerity and infectious blend of mesmerizing atmospherics with anthemic choruses have drawn favorable comparisons to U2, Kings of Leon, Snow Patrol and Bruce Springsteen. The Washington Post has called the quartet one of the most promising new talents on the East Coast. Recently, the band won Billboards World Song Contest. The group has shared stages with such diverse artists as Bon Jovi, Imagine Dragons, Switchfoot, Jonny Lang, Third Eye Blind, Hanson and Parachute. As a main attraction, Honor By August has pulled over 900 into DCs esteemed 9:30 Club. The groups music has been broadcast to millions many times over on ESPN, E! and popular MTV shows, and Honor By August has worked with Grammy-winning producers, mixers and engineers including Jack Joseph Puig (U2, Snow Patrol, Rolling Stones), Paul David Hager (Goo Goo Dolls), Jeff Juliano (John Mayer, O.A.R, Lifehouse), Toby Wright (Third Eye Blind) and Jim Ebert (Butch Walker, Meredith Brooks).

Honor By August is Michael Pearsall, lead vocals/guitar; Evan Field, guitar/piano/backing vocals; Chris Rafetto bass/piano/backing vocals; and Brian Shanley drums/percussion. The brave emotionality in its music reflects the bands commitment to writing honestly about life. We hope that our music finds a place in peoples lives wherever they may be on the spectrum of lifes highs and lows, Pearsall says. If youre going through a tough time, hopefully one of our songs will help you through it. If youre having a great time, hopefully one of our songs can enhance that experience. Life is what we make of it so why not try to make the most of it?

Monuments To Progress, which was fully funded by a Kickstarter campaign, benefits from a period of fluid creativity within the band. The writing process was much more collaborative in nature this time around. Everybody contributed songs and/or lyrical ideas so theres a real sense of collective ownership, Pearsall reveals. Letting the songwriting process flow organically has enabled the band to write its strongest material. The upliftingly introspective Last Chance is the albums lead single. Its a gorgeously cathartic track with a nuanced and shimmering verse exploding into a soaring chorus hook. The songs immediacy and messaging is refreshingly empowering. Its about that moment where you feel like things are falling apart around you but youre not quite ready to throw in the towel, Pearsall says. The song is about recognizing that you have a chance to turn it around.

Other standouts are Believe and the driving Already Yours. Believe, the closing track that gave the album its title, builds from spare acoustics to a walk-on-the-clouds climax, its sweeping dynamics perfectly tailored to powerfully introspective lyrics like faith isnt something I can borrow and working so hard to build these monuments to progress though we may never see tomorrow. That lyric represents a theme threaded throughout the record, Pearsall says. Whether its something as serious as faith in yourself and your ability to love and care for another person or something as simple as pursuing happiness in the momentAll we do in our lives makes us who we are. All these things are monuments to progress. Already Yours is boldly romantic. It is a song about putting up a fight for love, Pearsall says. Its also an invitation for someone to love you. Its saying, Im hereAll you have to do is step up and give me some sign that youre ready to take a chance on us.

Monuments To Progress was recorded at Cue Recording in Falls Church, VA, and produced by Jim Ebert (Butch Walker, Meredith Brooks). This time the band went for a richer sonic tapestry than their previous releases, opting for a fuller sound and a variety of elegantly subtle textures. The recording was fan-funded through a tremendously successful Kickstarter campaign. It was encouraging and humbling to see how much people believed in us and wanted to hear more music from Honor By August, Pearsall says.

Weve met a lot of great bands and made a lot of great fans on the road. Weve seen more of this beautiful country in a few years than most people see in a lifetime, Pearsall says, reflecting on the b