
Honeywolf is a young Swedish trio led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Lili HolĂ©nyi and featuring pianist Milton Ăhrström and bassist Mauritz Agnas. The debut album of this promising trio was produced by acclaimed vocalist-composer Lina Nyberg and released on her boutique label Lilalo.
Lili HolĂ©nyiâs crystal clear and expressive voice and her innocent, emotional delivery are at the center of Honeywolf songs. Ăhrström and Agnas embrace her singing in a reserved, emphatic interplay, attentive to any nuance in her excited, charming delivery, and all three offer a refreshing mix of jazz, art pop and subtle improvisations. Ăhrström and Agnas rich musicality is best captured on the playful, chamber introduction to the song «WTF» or the collaborative, wordless improvisation «Iâm Afraid, Iâm Not Afraid of the Wolf». The addition of violinists Victoria Stjerna and Felicia Ivarsson on «Hold On» solidifies the chamber jazz veins of Honeywolf.
The most impressive section of songs of «Dreamer» are HolĂ©nyiâs adaptations of poetic texts, all stress her versatile, highly personal language. She arranged Swedish poet-novelist Karin Boye poem «Havet» as a folk ballad, American poet Robert Creelyâs «All the Way» suggests her gift to make the poem her own, identifying with the main character. She delivers Hungarian poet Ady Endreâs «Nem Adom Vissza» as a mysterious incantation.
Eyal Hareuveni
Lili HolĂ©nyi (v, g), Milton Ăhrström (p), Mauritz Agnas (b), Victoria Stjerna (vio), Felicia Ivarsson (vio)