Twin Cities rock vets Honeydogs announce first new album in 9 years

The Honeydogs are about to release their first new album in nine years, but it’s actually their first in 28 years to feature their original lineup.

The locally beloved Twin Cities rock band — which strongly flirted with national fame in the mid-1990s — announced details of “Algebra for Broken Hearts” on Friday alongside the release of the LP’s first single, “Irish Goodbye.” It’s officially the band’s first LP since 2016’s “Love & Cannibalism,” but it’s the first Honeydogs record since 1997’s “Seen a Ghost” to feature original guitarist Tommy Borscheid.

“It was good to have Tommy back — he’s got fire in his belly and we missed it,” singer/guitarist Adam Levy said in the new album’s news release.

Living in Houston in recent years and playing with Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s, Borscheid first rejoined the Honeydogs onstage at First Avenue in June 2023 to celebrate the reissue of their 1996 album, “Everything, I Bet You.” That led to sessions last summer at the storied studio Creation Audio in Minneapolis with longtime cohort John Fields (Soul Asylum, Jonas Brothers) as producer.

If “Irish Goodbye” is any indicator, those sessions were highly spirited and played at rather high velocity. The poppy, up-tempo rocker evokes Kinks and Cheap Trick comparisons while Levy sings about what sounds like the short end of a long relationship: “I gave her the Milky Way, the Taj Mahal, the Golden Gate,” he sings. “All I got was an Irish goodbye.”

While never officially on hiatus, the Honeydogs — also with co-founding bassist Trent Norton and drummer Noah Levy — were put on the back burner in recent years as Adam Levy focused on his harmonious trio Turn Turn Turn (whose other co-leaders Barb Brynstad and Savannah Smith added vocals to this new record). Noah also stayed busy playing drums with Brian Setzer, Five for Fighting, Soul Asylum, Zeppo and more, plus he built his own recording studio.

The Honeydogs will ride again to promote the new record. Their hometown album release party will be at the Green Room in Uptown on the day of release, July 25, with Molly Maher opening. They also have gigs booked at the Lutsong Festival in Lutsen on July 12 and the Rieder Homestead barn series in Delano on July 26.

“Algebra for Broken Hearts” is now available for preorder via Jullian Records.