AMG Review of Everyone Wants the Honey But Not the Sting

Tom Schulte
All Music Guide

My Dad Is Dead proves their title through bypassing tuneful, clear melodies but provided full-force lyrics to remind us of the pain we felt and caused. Provocateur Mark Edwards vows, "I'm tired of singing songs about break ups, I promise this is my last one." Well, I can't imagine My Dad Is Dead any other way. Check it out, "Fate turned from friend to a cruel master today." This is from "Lesson #1" and I could have chosen nearly any one of the eleven tracks. This CD comes in an impressive tri-fold digipack and contains the latest works of the one of the most impressive underground lyricists. I once saw My Dad Is Dead play live in Philadelphia. The instrumental opener was the best song of the set. The rest, good rock with great lyrics. I think it is too taxing on the front man Mark Edwards to sing and play guitar simultaneously. He is not the most expressive vocalist, as it is, and this seems to erode his confidence. We are left with the unfortunate situation of a better than average lyricist in an average rock band.