Throughout the latter half of the 1990s Honey Is Cool remained a perennial challenger for Sweden’s pop supremacy, yet repeated festival slots and outsized media attention never translated into meaningful record sales.
Karin Dreijer, drummer Johan Hagström and bassist Staffan Larsson launched the group in 1994; guitarist Anders Göthberg joined shortly afterward. Their demo attracted immediate notice, securing appearances at the Emmaboda and Hultsfred festivals together with a contract on Sun Spot. The label issued the EP Focky Focky No Pay in 1996, featuring new drummer Håkan Hellström of Broder Daniel. Strong reviews prompted a move to MVG, which released the album Crazy Love; again the notices were enthusiastic while commercial results stayed modest. Honey Is Cool proved difficult to market, Dreijer delivering deliberately childlike vocals in a pronounced accent while the songs halted just short of genuine catchiness, and the band refused to alter its approach for wider appeal.
Frustration with sluggish sales and label pressure during the next album’s recording prompted the group to exit and establish its own imprint, Rabid Records. With Hellström returning to Broder Daniel, bassist Fredrik Wennerlund came aboard. Keyboardist Carl Larsson departed for Barusta in 1999 and was succeeded first by Dan Lepp and later by Tina Weibull. An EP appeared in the spring, followed that autumn by the album Early Morning Are You Working; both received the customary favorable notices and limited sales. The Rod Stewart cover “Baby Jane,” title track of a 2000 EP, quickly gained radio play. Honey Is Cool then announced an indefinite hiatus, Dreijer having turned her focus to the Knife and Wennerlund to Rockmonster. The decisive element was almost certainly Dreijer’s absence; she had served throughout as the band’s unmistakable front figure and, very likely, its principal creative force.
