Small towns get a bad rap - narrow-minded, stifling, uncultured - but there's something to be said for living outside the jurisdiction of the urban cool police. Isolation is inspirational, and a breeding ground for individuals to decide they like 50's rock, 60's psychedelia, 80's metal, hardcore punk, and ethereal girl bands. But what if five different people stumble upon this combination, and each other? They form a band of course!

To understand A Day For Honey, you could travel to the band's hometown of Holbrook, NY, but you'd do best to simply listen to its self-titled debut. It's the ultimate hybrid of rock's greatest moments: crunchy guitar riffs, an avalanche of crashing drums and bass-heavy rhythm, layers of effects-laden soundscapes - all propelling charming melodies as tightly as a Victorian corset.

But what kind of foursome chooses a girl to front its sonic assault? One made up of guys who like My Bloody Valentine as much as Helmet, that's who.

Bassist Anthony D'Aiuto and guitarist Frank Michael met in high school. Although Anthony had spent most of his adolescence at hardcore shows (both on and offstage) in New York and Connecticut, and Frank spent most of his jamming years in his bedroom, the two liked what their first songwriting experiments produced enough to call up drummer Larry Gorman. Larry, who had already played and recorded with Orange 9mm and Fountainhead, knew Anthony from time they both spent in a band called Reach Out (which, if we're dropping names here, was founded by Tom Capone of the mighty Quicksand). This was 1993 (the "year punk broke"), and the three shared a desire to branch out.

"I think for the most part, we were all fed up with screaming, and real loud, intense music," recalls Gorman. "My parents were into bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson, and this sounded like a 90's version of all that - not really knowing what direction you're going into, just doing music on a purely sonic basis."

They recruited the first singer they auditioned, Tracy Jorg, who they met through Frank's brother. The group wrote songs and jammed, but it wasn't until 1995 when guitarist Ed Ciappa (who had played in bands with both Anthony and Larry) joined in that A Day For Honey was born.

Produced and engineered by Don Fury, and released on Fury's own Building Records, A Day For Honey's debut messes with preconceptions and defies categorization from it's very start. Opening track "Brilliance of the Sun", an instrumental wash of tremolo-soaked guitar, quickly fades into a full-on detonation of sound called "Laserblast". "Laserblast" exemplifies A Day For Honey's collective nature and musical dexterity, each person's contribution pushing and pulling in several directions without being aimless. Inspired by a late-night discussion between members, the song's lyrical theme - the questioning of faith - is also explored on "UFO Wreck", "Ashes" and "Fleshsong."

A Day For Honey's hardcore roots show up too. "Perverse" was an old-school practice song until Larry and Tracy added lyrics a week before going into the recording session.

"That was a moment when we got really excited about things," explains Frank. "We realized we could be as diverse as we wanted to be, playing a typical hardcore song and making it into something that's our own."

Amidst all this blow-the-roof-off noise is "Cinder" and closing track "Dream Within a Dream", which use layers of ambient guitar effects (hello tremolo!) and Tracy's whispering harmonies to create modern day lullabies. Right in the middle of a rock record even!

"Too much of anything gets boring." says Frank. "Our songs are like a typical day in your life. You wake up in one mood and at lunch you're in a different mood. Peopoles emotions are constantly changing, and so is the record."

With five songwriters who all grew up around music in the band. A Day For Honey is just beginning to explore its multiple personalities. A deep friendship bond allows each member the opportunity to experiment and grow as they choose. The variety of directions heard on the debut is just the beginning.

"I feel that once you've found your direction, you're dead." states Larry. "You should always be looking for a different direction and trying as many sounds as you can. That's why I think bands like the Beatles were so good, they weren't afraid to try different kinds of sounds. But art for art's sake is annoying too. We want to fit in the middle."