The sold-out headline tours, #1 radio impact, widespread critical acclaim, and streaming success have merely lit the fuse for them to explode on their third full-length LP, Catch My Butterfly. Joining forces with iconic producer John Feldmann [Yungblud, blink-182, Korn], they deliver a dynamic, dangerous, and definitive body of work.

“We took the next step to a place where you may be able to hear our influences, but it’s also clear that we’ve got our own style,” Smolian observes. “Catch My Butterfly shows the width of what we can do as musicians and songwriters. We’re no one-trick pony.”

“I’m very proud of our perseverance,” add LaBelle. “Any band has to really survive to make a third record. We’ve made mistakes in the studio, gotten over past regrets, lived more, and become better songwriters. All of those things snowballed into Catch My Butterfly.”

Back in 2019, Dirty Honey rolled right into the fast lane at high speed. The group claimed a place in rock history with their breakout smash “When I’m Gone,” which took flight as “the first song by an unsigned artist to reach #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.” Years later, a recharged version of “When I’m Gone” appeared in 2025’s record-breaking blockbuster A Minecraft Movie. In between, they unleashed Dirty Honey [2021] and Can’t Find The Brakes [2023], which bowed at #2 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart. The boys notably hit the road with everyone from Guns N’ Roses to The Black Crowes in addition to selling out successive headline tours. Beyond praise from Loudwire, Classic Rock Magazine, Spill Magazine, and more, Rolling Stone marveled at how the band “harken back to the days of the rock gods but add a modern twist.” 

In 2026, the guys worked closely with Feldmann to bring Catch My Butterfly to life. The musicians maintained the grit and gusto they’re known for, while magnifying their vision to widescreen proportions.

“I grew up on rock ‘n’ roll,” Feldmann states. “As a kid, my favorite band was probably The Who. From the moment I heard it, Marc’s vocals totally stood out to me. Everything about the band is super authentic and unique to them. His voice drew me in, and then I was hooked by everything else. They really pushed me, and I pushed them. It was such an open creative environment. They don’t fit under any simple category. For any great band, it comes down to emotion more than anything, and I think we nailed that emotional connection with this album.” 

“Everything sounded so much bigger than our earlier records,” says Smolian. “We found a way to apply John’s approach to what we do without being a totally different band.”

“He also had a completely different workflow,” LaBelle elaborates. “In the past, we always completed the music first. With John, there were a few times when we essentially built a whole idea around a vocal track.”

“He brought back the little nervousness that we felt before we had ever officially released music,” Notto grins. “It’s the best place to write rock ‘n’ roll from.”

Like a roller coaster climbing and clinking towards the top of a hill, the single “Lights Out” kickstarts the record in dramatic fashion punctuated by open chords, delay-drenched staccato, toe-tapping bass, and a steady beat. This anthem turns on a dime as it’s whipped into the undertow of corkscrew riffing and an existential warning, “I’m standing out on the edge. You better get ready ‘cause they’re gonna turn the lights out.” Topping off the tune with a bang, the solo practically leaves John’s fretboard in flames.

“The message is, ‘You’d better live now because you’re going to die someday’,” LaBelle exclaims. “I was always hype about the guitar part. From there, it took time to find the right chorus. Once we did, it lyrically came together so fast.”

“‘Lights Out’ was the first banger,” Notto adds. “It’s one of those rare times when I got the solo right on the demo! It’s only one flavor of the album though. There’s so much more.”

Wistful acoustic guitar and gentle strings give “Butterfly” its wings. Leaning into the soulful side of his register, LaBelle wonders, “Where’d you go butterfly?” The tune’s sunny instrumentation belies the intensity of the subject matter, “Searching for answers in the alleyways where the junkies are getting high.”

“There are addiction issues in my family,” sighs the frontman. “I tried to write from a different perspective—either that of a father to an addicted child or the family member of an addict. In this scenario, you’re so overcome with worry about whether or not your loved one is alive or dead at any given moment. We’d go weeks without hearing from my brother. He’s doing great now, but it was super scary. My thought was, ‘If you don’t get high, there’s no way that you’re going to catch this person who is so beautiful in your eyes, but so broken at the same time’.

A palm-muted riffs bobs and weaves on the trail of a slippery and loose lead on “American Lies.” It culminates on a relatable chant, “Are these American dreams? Or just American lies?”

“It addresses how the traditional American dream is completely out of reach for our generation,” LaBelle states. “When you think of our parents and grandparents, it used to be simple—get a job, get married, buy a house, and have kids. However, I know so many people who can’t even support themselves because of circumstances that are out of their control ever since the Pandemic. Nothing is the same as it used to be. Everybody is just in survival mode. Hopefully, this can change, but I’m not sure.”

Then, there’s “Numb.” A vulnerable intro gives way to a rip-roaring refrain uplifted by bursts of distortion and the vocalist’s wild wailing from, “You leave me so numb…Every time you walk away.” 

“It began as an acoustic song,” LaBelle reveals. “It explores a bad relationship. This person treats you terribly, but you can’t rid yourself of your addiction to the situation—even though it’s dead. The love is gone; you’re just left with this cold and numb feeling. You’re being reminded of what once was, and it’s never coming back again.”

“Lullaby” seesaws on a head-nodding groove gassed up by crunch power chords and a punchy rhythm. Marc makes a promise on the hook, “I’m yours, my lullaby.” Notto tears through an epic slide guitar solo straight out of the Duane Allman playbook. “It began as a voice note on my phone,” recalls LaBelle. “It’s about two people who are longing for each other despite everybody else in the world not wanting it to work out between them.”

“I walked into the studio, dialed in a fuzz tone, and ripped the slide in one take,” Notto continues. 

Lithe finger-picking brushes up against LaBelle’s delivery during the finale “I Should’ve Known.” He confesses, “I tried so hard to get close to you. Now, I can’t stand the truth ‘cause I should’ve known...I’d wind up right here alone.” Echoes of Notto’s EBow wash over the harmonies, swelling into one last exhale.

“I’ve always loved how Aerosmith would end their albums with a ballad,” LaBelle declares. “It’s a great move. So, ‘I Should’ve Known’ is our introspective ballad for Catch My Butterfly.”

In the end, Dirty Honey have made a rock record for this moment and generations to come.

“We consciously aimed to elevate everything,” LaBelle leaves off. “If you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got. It was a gamble to take the road less-traveled, but it paid off. The whole point of creatively standing out on the edge is to try new things, because you’re not going to get to do it a second time.”

“We did everything we wanted to do, and it definitely sounds like Dirty Honey,” Smolian concludes. — Rick Florino

BOILER

Dirty Honey never play it safe. Rather than ever get comfortable, the Los Angeles trio—Marc LaBelle [lead vocals], John Notto [guitar], Justin Smolian [bass]—adrenalize rock ‘n’ roll by breaking all of the rules, defying expectations, and forever going against the grain. Instead of re-tracing a pre-paved path, the group zig, zag, and blaze a trail of their own. Back in 2019, Dirty Honey rolled right into the fast lane at high speed. The group claimed a place in rock history with their breakout smash “When I’m Gone,” which took flight as “the first song by an unsigned artist to reach #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.” Years later, a recharged version of “When I’m Gone” appeared in 2025’s record-breaking blockbuster A Minecraft Movie. In between, they unleashed Dirty Honey [2021] and Can’t Find The Brakes [2023], which bowed at #2 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart. The boys notably hit the road with everyone from Guns N’ Roses to The Black Crowes in addition to selling out successive headline tours. Beyond praise from Loudwire, Classic Rock Magazine, Spill Magazine, and more, Rolling Stone marveled at how the band “harken back to the days of the rock gods but add a modern twist.” The sold-out headline tours, #1 radio impact, widespread critical acclaim, and streaming success have merely lit the fuse for them to explode on their third full-length LP, Catch My Butterfly. Joining forces with iconic producer John Feldmann [Yungblud, blink-182, Korn], they deliver a dynamic, dangerous, and definitive body of work introduced by “Lights Out” and “Butterfly.”