Francine Honey’s – “Can’t Press Reset” (SINGLE)

Warm and as sweet as her name would imply it could be, the Francine Honey’s vocal is always the focal point of anything she records, but in the case of her new single and music video “Can’t Press Reset,” it’s reason enough to give her latest release a close examination this fall. Strutting forth from the silence on the back of a slightly countrified groove, this up and coming crossover singer/songwriter laments the losses of 2020 with a bright, stirring command of the harmony in this track and, for critics like myself, she makes it all the more difficult to dismiss her sound as a passing fancy.

URL: https://francinehoney.com/

The guitar in this song has a great sizzle that definitely puts a bit of an edge on the main melody here, but I don’t think it ever grows so hot that it distracts from the primary focus on the lead vocal at all. On the contrary, nothing is competing for our affections in “Can’t Press Reset,” but instead working towards a common goal of imparting solidarity and kinship unto anyone who happens to be within earshot of the music. It’s selfless songcraft, and ironically it’s being utilized to promote a selfless attitude in the era of COVID-19.

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Press-Reset-Francine-Honey/dp/B08KZSP3Y1

“Can’t Press Reset” is supported by a music video as stripped-down and barebones as they come, zeroing-in on the natural chemistry Honey has with her backing band even when they’re literally phoning in the performance from a distance. Not even a six-foot barrier can stop these players from connecting with one another to make some smashing music all the more intimate here, and amidst the difficult times we’re living in at the moment, I think there’s something especially inspiring about a performance like this one. Music is bringing us together even when the notion of togetherness seems out of reach, and to this end, Francine Honey deserves a lot of praise this November.

If you like vocal-powered melodicism with a pastoral and poetic bend to it, “Can’t Press Reset” is a song that you really need to be listening to at the moment. Honey doesn’t hide her skills from the world in this release but instead exploits her gifts for everything they’re worth, and given the circumstances, I don’t know that her blossoming sound could be arriving in record stores at a more optimal moment than the present. I’m very impressed with her growth, and something tells me other listeners will be as well.

Mark Druery