Honey Harper’s debut album, “Starmaker,” to be released March 6 on ATO Records, comes as a collection of contradictions in both subject matter and style. It was written with his wife and writing partner, Alana Pagnutti, and recorded over the past three years in Paris, Budapest, and London.

Born William Fussell in Adel, Georgia, he was raised in Atlanta before moving to London with his wife. In 2017, after years of playing in a shoe-gaze band and an art-pop project, he returned to his roots in country music and released “Universal Country,” a critically acclaimed EP with Arbutus Records. Since then he has been recording “Starmaker,” which he describes as a “celestial honky-tonk” combining the famous ideology of Gram Parson’s Cosmic Country with an aesthetic to match. The blending of the ethereal FM synthesizers with a classic country twang bring about a marriage reminiscent of Brian Eno and George Jones.

With album appearances from Sébastian Tellier and Austra, the contrast of the songs becomes even more apparent and set Honey Harper apart to become the torch-bearer for a revitalized country sound.


Honey Harper is the cowboy angel making songs you never knew you wanted.