Finals week is that one rare and special little week that–although stressful–allows you the time to do whatever you want. You’ve no classes to attend and nowhere in particular to be (except to find hideaways to study and perhaps scavenge for food with friends). One thing that I find myself doing every single finals week–whether to my disadvantage or not–is spending countless hours plunging back into the music grind to really enjoy a moment to listen.

Isn’t it crazy how throughout the school year, finding a moment to simply devote all your energy and mind on one thing–such as listening, enjoying and absolutely losing yourself to music–is a moment so rare to come across?

Here, I am going to start some kind of On the Music Grind series where I will intensively take and transport you through my feeling and experience of a song that has stroke a deep, intense, heart-wrenching, painful and perhaps angsty chord in me. Today, I’m going to take you through the lovely Kate Earl‘s raunchy song “Honey,” a toothy tongue-in-cheek blues anthem in which Earl describes as having written more than ten years ago and is inspired by The Doors.

One thing that has been lost in a lot of songs that are performed today–I find–is pure feeling. As Earl showcases her five octaves within this song, she claims that she “like[s] to think that I’m a new generation honoring the tradition with my own stories” through her vocal stylings and sense of revival in the song. With kick drums, snares, clunky bass lines and a driving electric guitar, Kate’s voice croons over the song in a way that entices the listener through whispering phrases, lingering ad-libs and fragile yet deep chest-powered vocals.

Opening with soft, luring phrases such as, “Sit back, don’t you go anywhere. Sit back, I’ll get you something to drink,” she enchants you with a sense of urgency to be at ease. The guitar softly follows in the background, delivering a sort of grungy garage feel, as she croons in increased succession, “I’ll give you honey, I’ll give you honey, I’ll give you honey, with your tea.”

Soon, the kick drum comes in and its rock-and-roll line induces feelings of increased enticement and anxiety. It lifts you up and up, without reaching a resolve, quite yet. It could almost be called as something strangely orgasmic.

The song builds up and continually gets louder and louder as her voice follows the mood of the song saying, “Rise and fall, babe. Rise and fall, babe.”

When the song reaches its mid-portion, Earl delivers some raunch as if she were lost in the passion of her love-making–both to the song and to whoever she finds as “honey.” The driving guitar keeps pushing and pushing when she says, “I love you honey, when you dream,” and suddenly stops between phrases as she says, “We’re like two birds on a stream. You love to make me sing. I believe that you’re the finest man that I have ever seen.”

Following her intense feeling for the groove of the song, her voice becomes more fragile as she shouts–as if admittedly–“Your love can’t do me no harm,” repeating once more as if she were captured in a spell-binding possession.

And then, her voice, as a bird, croons “Ooooh,” “Ooohhh,” “Aaaaahhhhh,” “Aaaaahhhhhhhh,” each getting higher and higher in octave until it pierces your ears in a tense, anxious and almost shattering feeling. The song reaches its high here as the grungy guitar continually gets louder and grungier until it drops back to the quietude of the beginning of the song as Earl remarks, “Sit back, kick off your boots. Put your feet up baby you’re a hard-working man.”

Almost flirty and seductive, Earl lastly delivers, “I love you honey. I love it honey. I love it honey, when you come ho-o-o-me, to me,” adding an out-of-breath “Yeah” towards the end.

Finally, Earl takes us through a whirlwind of feeling and vocal-crooning as the song ends in a loose, continuously-played lazily-driven blues guitar riff, ending the song with a sudden, circular stop.

The entire feel of the song is entirely spell-binding, feeling as if the listener is possessed by Earl’s vocal calls and seduction. What I particularly love about this song is its dirty angst felt through its guitar riffs followed by the sweetness and innocence of Earl’s voice. It’s almost very playful and tactful, which I find myself having a strong relation to in the way I oft live and interact with ‘love’ in my life.

And, the song is just so entirely infectious and cleverly–yet expertly–conveys the feeling of angst and passion felt when in “love.” Earl, having found a way to incorporate what words cannot quite physically touch or feel, succeeds in capturing that emotion and passion with her voice. She uses words, phrases, noises and sounds to move through her to capture something truly remarkable here.

There are not a lot of songs that can move me quite as much as this. Inspiring artist and woman, indeed.