ALBUM REVIEW: Black Honey 'Bloodlust EP'

Rating:

Elusive Brighton four-piece Black Honey have never been ones to take to the limelight too quickly. Despite stirring up media interest over the last few months in reaction to their second single ‘Teenager’ the band still live cautiously under the radar, having only played one, secret Brighton show last Friday, and with plans to play London’s Notting Hill Arts Club on the 2^nd of November

Aside from their recent signing to Duly Noted Records, very little is known about the band themselves, other than the steady release of demos over the last few months and a slightly mysterious phone number for fans to contact them on, the band remain as relative unknowns. However this is likely set to change in the upcoming months, with the release of their debut EP ‘Bloodlust’.

Black Honey marks the continuation of a trend that has been unjustly unnoticed in the indie music scene: the acceptance of female fronted bands in a scene that has been long dominated by males. Following in the footsteps of Canadian pop outfit Alvvays and creating predictable comparisons to indie up-starters Wolf Alice, it seems Black Honey are not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves. Tracks like ‘The Taste’ draws clear comparisons to the likes of shoegaze masters such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride, juxtaposing harsh, complex guitar textures with dulcet vocals and rhythmic percussion. The likely future fan favourite ‘Bloodlust’ combines catchy melodies with an infectious chorus, criticising dreams of Hollywood and being “dead on the silver screen”. The EP closes with ‘Sleep Forever’, slowing down from the pace of the rest of the EP in a tender, dark and atmospheric track driven by soft yet powerful vocals.

Whilst the band clearly show potential of gaining wide-spread recognition throughout the indie-rock scene, it’s ever too easy for a band like this to be inevitably thrown into the same pile as NME favourites Superfood, JAWS, and, unsurprisingly, Wolf Alice. Whilst these bands deserve recognition in their own right, all are seemingly part of a wider, vague scene of bands still drawing off the success of the ever-popular Peace, with their sugar-coated pop melodies and driving, catchy guitar. In a scene with so many strikingly similar bands at the moment, it would be easy for Black Honey to go unnoticed before they’ve had time to step out of the shadows, however, if Bloodlust is anything to go by, we can see them hopefully sticking around for a while to come.

Sam Prosser

@samprosser_