Honest Mechanik

We are Honest Mechanik, an indie-pop duo born in the wilds of Medford, MA. Yeah, that’s right. We’re a Medford Super Group. We’re also Susan Cattaneo and Paul Hansen, two singer songwriters who have joined collective and creative forces to create a new sound that feels at once, both familiar and unique. Featuring quirky lyrics and ear-worm melodies that highlight our dual lead vocals and close harmonies, Honest Mechanik has the vibe of The Velvet Underground paired with the intimacy of Belle and Sebastian.

We’re both seasoned musicians with solo careers on both the local and national music scene. Paul, the tall one, considers himself “song obsessed” and has been the lead singer and creative force behind the popular band The Grownup Noise, an indie pop group that has garnered rave reviews and over the years , has performed in numerous sold-out shows including 7 national tours. Susan, the other tall one, has won or been a finalist in all the prestigious songwriting festivals around the country and tours as a solo artist and also with The Big Loud Band. When she’s not performing, Susan’s had a twenty year career as a Songwriting Professor at the Berklee College of Music. She’s also a “go-to” collaborator and songwriter for others, having crafted songs for both national and local artists (Mark Erelli, Dennis Brennan, Dinty, Child, Jenee Halstead).

The songs of Honest Mechanik came together around our voices and over the distinctive sound of Pauls’ Godin Archtop semi-acoustic. When we went into the studio, Susan brought in Marco Giovino (Band of Joy) to add some amazingly deep groove to the tunes. Recorded over the past year with Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sound Studios (Darlingside, Mark Erelli, Lula Wiles, Air Traffic Controller), Honest Mechanik’s self-titled debut album is a testament to what happens when two new friends hang out and make music together.

We’re proud to say we were nominated for Folk Act Of the Year at the 2021 Boston Music Awards, and we’ve been hard at work on our next album, release date 2023.

And why Honest Mechanik? We chose the name because “they’re very rare and you’d travel a great distance to find one.”