SINGLE REVIEW: Bones in the Museum – Honest Mistake
With ‘Honest Mistake’, Bones in the Museum trade in distortion and punk grit for acoustic textures and lyrical introspection—and the shift feels not just natural, but necessary. This is the first glimpse into the band’s upcoming album How to Get Uninvited to Everything, and it arrives soaked in emotional clarity. On the surface, it’s bright and melodic: jangling acoustic guitars, splashy drums, and a hook that clings to your ears like an old friend. But underneath the shimmer lies something more fractured—a quiet narrative about the alienation that creeps in as we grow further from the people we used to be.
Joe King’s vocals are perfectly imperfect—raw, understated, and deeply human. He doesn’t oversell the message, but the weight of it still lands: the awkward social rituals, the sense of not quite belonging, the regret of missteps that change your place in someone else’s story. Gang vocals echo in toward the end, loose and rough-edged, like a chorus of old mates adding their own version of the same memory. It’s charming in its DIY simplicity, but emotionally it hits hard—an invitation into shared discomfort.
Musically, the track is unshowy but detailed. The acoustic guitars have a nice jangle that gives the song lift without becoming twee. The rhythm section feels live and loose, pushing things forward without fuss. And there’s a beautifully restrained guitar solo near the end that chimes and swells with just the right amount of emotion—sweeping but unpretentious, it ties everything together without stealing the spotlight. Nothing feels overly sculpted. It’s handcrafted, and that authenticity rings out in every chord.
‘Honest Mistake’ shows a band evolving—not abandoning their past sound, but writing from a place of deeper self-awareness. It’s catchy and memorable, but it also lingers. Bones in the Museum aren’t just writing songs; they’re telling stories with bruises still visible. And if this is the direction they’re heading, the rest of the album can’t come soon enough.
