"...Tastes Change, mixes thick, drippy melodies with atmospheric harmonies and moody, albeit adroit, vocals - taking cues from influences such as Radiohead, the Beta Band and Air." Flagpole Magazine, Charley Lee, November 8, 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...With a sound this rich, fine-tuned, and thick, it’s hard to imagine the Honored Guests have only been around for three years." Performer Magazine, Lauren Alexis Begnaud, July 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...If Baggett was wearing flannel in the vocal booth last time, he sounds like he's dressed to impress this time, suited up in sartorial British threads and singing for the stars." Independent Weekly, Grayson Currin, April 26, 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...Peaks and troughs in the album's energy take the listener on a sonic ride that doesn't leave time for distractions." The Daily Tarheel, Jim Walsh, April 27, 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...Their melodic roots are pleasantly roughed up with sonic experimentation, awash with reverb, distortion and odd percussion." The Roanoke Times, Orr Shtuhl, May 25, 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...For Tastes Change, this Chapel Hill, NC quartet has expanded - morphed might be the term - into a band that has outdone the awe I initially proclaimed on Iawokeinacityasleep." Slightly Confusing For A Stranger, June 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...So here we have another talented band sprung from the fertile Chapel Hill music scene, borrowing freely from both sides of the Atlantic for inspiration, and savvy to the truth that doing things independently is just about the only way nowadays to do exactly what you want." Smokey Mountain News, July 5, 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...It is a precarious dance that The Honored Guests are leading us into, as they are attempting to do two things which so many bands struggle to do independently: they aim to produce rollicking rock songs, yet they still want to create a tonal atmosphere that will affect the listener on more than just the surface." Harmonium, Jack Pereira, September 27, 2006 FULL CD REVIEW
"...Is it any surprise then that I was hooked within about 30 seconds of listening to "Baby We're So Lost" on their page? I don't think so." ThaBombShelter, Harry Smith, April 17, 2007 FULL CD REVIEW
"...All the right chords at the perfect places, the melancholic and fragile vocal, and the intensity and quality I hoped for." Eardrums, Lotte, April 21, 2007 FULL CD REVIEW
"...I am not sure how to describe The Honored Guests. Is experimental alt-country a genre? ...All I know is that I am hooked." Your Standard Life, April 27, 2007 FULL CD REVIEW
"...I don't think I've even begun to scratch the surface to The Honored Guests music yet--each listen brings with it something unexpected and new that wasn't there the last time I listened. ...if you're smart (and I know you are) you'll get it now and be ahead of the hype." Quick Before It Melts, April 28, 2007 FULL CD REVIEW
"...The album as a whole has a mellow feel to it that pulls you in and carries you along. I don't want to imply that the whole affair puts you to sleep, rather it's a languid journey (in the dreamy and delicate sense) from beginning to end." Hosting The Honored Guests, May 03, 2007 FULL CD REVIEW
Iawokeinacityasleep Reviews
"...So even though we’ll never know what the guys in the hats are up to, the Honored Guests have made an album that’s as interesting as its packaging." The Raleigh Hatchet, February 2005 FULL CD REVIEW
"iawokeinacityasleep achieves a sense of completion without exhausting its listener . . . [and] like the ambling acoustic closer 'Days Are Getting Brighter', invite[s] the listener on a walk through a city that's just beginning to wake. For the most part, the walk is worth it." Mike Doyle, Splendid, February 28, 2005 FULL CD REVIEW
"Lead vocalist / guitarist Russell Baggett delivers the albums storylines in a Tom Petty-meets-Nebraska-era Bruce Springstein style, and while that sounds just as odd coming from the listener, it works quite well given the genuine passion this North Carolina trio is presenting." Slightly Confusing For A Stranger, February 9, 2005 FULL CD REVIEW
"Though touchstones abound from the Beach Boys-ish harmonies that open "Postmarked" to the grey, moody Radiohead rock of "I Can't Keep You," they've a predilection toward "acid folk" and its antecedents." Chris Parker, Independent Weekly FULL CD REVIEW
"With IAWOKEINACITYASLEEP, The Honored Guests serve up a full-course, four-star meal with their new album, leaving listeners craving for more." Nicole Bobitski, The Daily Tarheel, November 11, 2004 FULL CD REVIEW
"This Chapel Hill trio's music has a thick, sonorous fullness that drips from your speakers like syrup." Chris Parker, Independent Weekly, October 27, 2004 FULL CD REVIEW
Concert Reviews
"Chapel Hill band The Honored Guests opened the show with a textured sound heavy on melody. THG sounded tight...catching their (the crowd's) attention in a way that eludes most openers at Cat’s Cradle. It didn’t take long for heads to start turning..." Jamie Williams, Diversions - The Daily Tarheel, January 16, 2008 FULL CONCERT REVIEW
"Their performance spanned the musical spectrum from multi-layered, ghostly guitar-scapes to straight up rock and roll." Jay Lowe, 'Sup Magazine, January 16, 2008 FULL CONCERT REVIEW
"The effortless bass, drum and guitar melodies showcased on their CD revealed itself in full force for the live show, pleasing concertgoers and musicians alike." Nicole Bobitski, The Daily Tarheel, January 26, 2005 FULL CONCERT REVIEW
Other Articles
"Diversions presents: Friday the 13th" - Interview with Andrew Kinghorn The Daily Tarheel, April 12, 2007 ARTICLE
"The Honored Guests to play at Red Star Bar" - Interview with Russ Baggett Samantha Morgan, The Advocate, March 16, 2007 FULL ARTICLE
"SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY - ...The four-piece takes the ethereal dream-pop of Doves and douses it in Carolina barbeque sauce, crafting its own majestic brand of tightly wound rock anthem..." - Interview with Andrew Kinghorn David Bevan, Washington Square News, October 2006 FULL ARTICLE
"...While touching on influences such as The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Radiohead, The Honored Guests deliberately paint a somewhat dark, psychedelic pop picture." David Brewer, High Country News, June 1, 2006 FULL ARTICLE
Who's Who in Local Music? Meredith Lee Price, UNC Blue & White FULL ARTICLE
The latest album, TASTES CHANGE was released May 2006 on Breakfast Mascot Music. It is available for purchase online or at your local music retailer!
