Kodaline shows love-related anguish in "Honest"

Round up a stellar 2014, Kodaline return with the music video for new single "Honest," the lead single from the Irish alternative rock quartet's upcoming sophomore album, "Coming Up For Air," will be released on February 9. Kodaline exploded in Europe last year when their debut LP "In A Perfect World" produced a string of emotional soft-rock in the best possible way anthems documenting mournful tales of love and loss.
For all intents and purposes, "Honest," is a song about communication. This makes a whole lot of sense, since misunderstood communication usually stems from insufficient frankness and dishonesty. The Jacknife Lee-produced track, due for release on February 1st, finds the Dublin-based rockers in something of a bad mood. While "Honest" certainly has more of an edge than their previous hits with its sharp lyrics and angry guitars, Kodaline still throws in a soaring chorus and stays true to their whimsical stadium-rock sound.
Influenced by a pure and more clean sound, with more depth in their lyrics, "Say what you want to say/ but if you lie to me again/ I'll be the one who walks away/ is it in you to be honest?" bolstered by a huge-sounding, buzzy synth line, are resolute, yet somehow oddly uplifting, as the chords change from minor to major. This shift feels especially nice, as the verses are purposely minor, indicating conflict. It's a towering rock anthem that oozes earnest drama with its sensitive crooning and giant-sized crescendos. Is it in you to be honest? Check out the booming new video, which sees performance footage of the band mixed with moments of love-related anguish.

Kodaline sings love lost & found in "High Hopes"

Dublin-based alternative rock quartet Kodaline have released the heartbreakingly beautiful video for their new single "High Hopes," which will appear on the bands EP "The High Hopes," which comes out March 18th, followed by their debut full-length, "In A Perfect World" on March 25th via RCA/B-Unique. The hotly-tipped quartet having been included in the BBC Sound of 2013 nominees, MTV's Brand New for 2013, and also having been featured on the iTunes and Shazam tips for 2013.
The Irish four-piece's inspiring, piano-led number grabs at all the right heart strings and tugs tightly. Lead singer Steve Garrigan's vocals are haunting as he sings about love lost and found. The lyrics take us from a point in time when love is new to remembering the pain when that love is no longer there, all the while reminding us that "the world keeps spinning around." The new EP finds the band at their most brilliantly anthemic, as a delicate piano intro slowly builds before bursting into life on a wave of crashing drums, echoing guitar lines and Garrigan's heartfelt vocal.
Kodaline's brand of melodic rock has been accompanied by some impressive narrative videos, particularly the hugely popular heartstring-puller for "All I Want," directed by and featuring Stevie Russell as the facially disfigured hero. And now comes Stevie's video for the band's "High Hopes," which is beautifully shot mini-drama of redemption and another heart-in-mouth story, displays a series of montages showing the love story between a man and a woman, leading up to both characters being shot by an angry ex boyfriend, who she left to be with this other man.
With top Irish actor Liam Cunningham, who appears in fantasy TV series "Game Of Thrones," playing a man about to end it all, with a hosepipe attached to his car exhaust, until the woman he loves (played by Naimh Large) arrives in her wedding dress with an irate bridegroom and wedding guests hot on her heels. The video is beautifully lit and extremely well acted—no flashy gimmicks. It's simple, and sometimes the most simple imagery can pull out the rawest emotions. It's heart-rending stuff, and a big ending too.