Someone tell Katy Perry that her “plastic bag drifting through the wind” metaphor has been trumped by a line from the new S AND R EP.
“You pick me up and browse through me / And lay me down at your leisure / But it’s just stacks of old versions of me,” observes vocalist and guitarist Saxon Kennedy on “Honey, Look At My Face,” the title track of the Boston duo’s debut project. The symbolism evokes the eerie vacancy of magazines spread across a waiting room table, as the song roots around a liminal space and past chapters for a firm sense of self. “I’m still picking out a face that I think I could live with,” Kennedy later bellows, a line that serves as the foundation of Honey, Look At My Face.
Even at a glance, the inherently intimate title signals the vulnerable nature of the EP, which the pair describe as a “collection of confessions on growing pains and identity searching and our lives together.” As S AND R weave through thoughts about identity, queer love, and mental health, they lock eyes with every topic, bolstered by a soulful amalgam of rock and R&B.
By the final track, it’s clear that Honey, Look At My Face isn’t a plea — it’s a confident demand. Tune in below.