Ben Platt’s debut studio album, 2019’s Sing to Me Instead, leaned toward the kind of traditional vocal pop that’s typically associated with artists whose roots are in theater. Where it was filled with soft songs to quell an anxious, lonely heart, 2021’s Reverie was its antithesis, a synth-pop-inflected soundtrack to falling in love in your childhood bedroom.
On his third studio album, Honeymind, Platt—who’s now engaged to fellow Broadway actor Noah Galvin—sounds even more confident in his queerness. Although he laments having found true love, he doesn’t shy away from sharing insights into previous relationships. On “Andrew,” he sings: “My senses go numb/My brain is on fire/They say wanting someone is supposed to be fun/That’s because they never loved an Andrew.”
The title of the opening track, “Right Kind of Reckless,” suggests there is indeed a wrong kind of reckless, which is certainly true for LGBTQ people. “Time’s gonna make you grow up by the day,” Platt proclaims. “I’ll try to be mature, not quite so insecure/But I refuse to lose my sense of wonder.” It’s by tapping into this wonder that Platt creates songs that are completely his own, as Honeymind maintains a deliberately happy-go-lucky spirit, even in moments of self-doubt.
In a similar vein, the catchy “Shoe to Drop” grapples with finding light even when life is full of darkness. “Life is rain, ain’t that funny?/You get sad, I’ll get sunny,” Platt sings. Perhaps it’s love that’s made Platt sound so jovial. That’s not to say he wasn’t before, but the difference between Reverie and the 13 songs here is that he’s learned to love himself.
Platt, though, is mindful that with sun comes rain, with life comes death, and with love comes heartbreak. And one of Honeymind’s strengths is its recognition of that: “Someday/There’ll be monsters/Someday/There’ll be problems,” Platt beautifully sings on the closing track, “Monster.” “Right now/Count your blessings and your lucky stars/And be right where you are.” It’s this open-heartedness—call it honeymindedness—that allows Platt to be his authentic self.
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