Local band happily on rise after first release

Honey & Darling are on a mission to make people happy.The Omaha-based pop-rock trio has just released their debut EP, "What Became of What I Love," and is playing shows to support it, drawing fans by the droves with their well-crafted rock songs.

Though lead vocalist Sara Bertuldo only jokes that rock 'n' roll can save the world, if the earnest power of her band's music is any indication, she really believes it. From the energetic opener "Little Coats" to the acoustic guitar and xylophone ballad "MPC," the band's first release heralds greatness and good taste.

Guitarist Matt Carroll attributes Honey & Darling's uniqueness to the band's wide-ranging musical inclinations. Each member cites a distinct set of influences from Led Zeppelin to Cibo Matto to Pavement, but the old standby everyone can agree on is The Beatles.

Like the Fab Four, Honey & Darling's music covers much ground. The band handles infectious pop tunes, hard-driving rock ditties and mellow acoustic songs with grace and honesty. Lyrically, the band explores territory such as love, work, loss and anguish.

"Generally, we try and write good rock songs that aren't trying to be more than what they are," Carroll said.

Bertuldo said she wants to come up with a name better than hodgepodge rock, but that that is an accurate description of the band's sound.

"I want to sound like everything," Bertuldo said. "Eventually, I want to hit all the genres."

Beginning in the summer of 2007, Bertuldo's stripped-down bedroom pop project Honey & Darling grew. But it wasn't until earlier this year that drummer Robert Little joined, forming the band into its current noisier incarnation. Little also plays bass for local progressive indie band The Stay Awake.

"Robert changed us," Carroll said. "Having a good, solid power drummer that plays solid beats sort of makes us play differently."

The band has gained favorable ink from the local music press, appearing in the Omaha City Weekly, The Reader and the Omaha World-Herald. The band hopes to tour and release a full-length album next year.

"We look toward the next step more than anything," said Carroll, who also plays in Omaha indie rock band Landing on the Moon.

The band continually refines its sound. Carroll and Bertuldo often stay up late into the night honing their songs.

"We just come home and want to play our instruments," Carroll said.

For the band's sincerity, Honey & Darling just wants to have a really good time onstage, often bantering with the audience. Once, Bertuldo played the "Keyboard Cat" riff to shame a late-arriving member of an opening act who caused Honey & Darling's set to be delayed.

The band is more versatile than most.

Onstage, members swap instruments frequently, with Bertuldo switching from guitar to bass to keyboard to xylophone while Carroll and Little trade guitar, bass and drum duties. Each is skilled enough to play with flair, but no member overshadows another. Instead, the songs cohere into sometimes jubilant, sometimes downhearted sonic mosaics and immerse the listener in pure beauty.

"We're standing up there, trying to play our instruments, trying to be honest," Carroll said.

And their attempt at being honest shows. The band's live staple "Better Be Quiet" is one of the most incredible songs in recent memory. Sadly, it won't be out until sometime next year, when the band releases its first album. An ethereal closing number that takes a long time to build to an excitatory pitch - neurons firing, tear-ducts trembling - "Better Be Quiet" is the kind of song you carry to bed with you after the show, the kind that lulls and electrifies you and makes you want to be a better person. It's the kind of song that could save the world.

Honey & Darling will play Nov. 23 at the Waiting Room with A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Drakes Hotel. The show starts at 9 p.m. and costs $8. To check out their music, visit myspace.com/honeyandarling.