QR music review: black honey - black honey
4/5
"I would be dead if I didn't have a band", frontwoman Izzy B Phillips states matter-of-factly in an interview with NME. Music and being in a band are viewed as second nature and a necessity for the lifestyle and culture for the members of Black Honey, who - despite their critical success - all still work day jobs. They have been on the scene since 2014, and despite releasing a string of EPs, have just released their debut full-length. Since the release of their first EP in 2014, Black Honey have created a buzz around their music and finally, four years later, the buzz has reached its zenith. A work of dedication, hard-work, and genuine love for music. It is a debut album that has been much anticipated, and has surely made its mark.
It's a perfect mixing pot of a multitude of noises and styles, with Black Honey making themselves seem genre-less - an impressive feat for a debut album. It makes them a band to pin down. The long period of development between starting as a band four years ago and releasing a full-length album - with numerous tours, support slots, and EPs in between - has served the band well. It has allowed them to feel their way around and get comfortable with the music they want to purport, instead of what they deem as being expected of the. This album is not the one the Black Honey of four years ago would have expected to release as their debut. Initially viewed from their EPs as an indie rock band, from their debut's second track, 'Midnight', they put an end to this label. 'Midnight' and later track 'Just Calling' sound like classic disco tracks, a daring feat for a rock band to attempt in 2018. But it pays off, with the former track especially packing a punch and surprising long-time fans of the band. 'Midnight' was a track that initially began its life as a joke - with lead-singer Izzy singing the song's chorus in a high falsetto during a discussion about how the band needed its own 'Heart of Glass' moment.
The rumbling guitar riff in 'Whatever Happened To You', the album's next track, tears through any remaining light-heartedness found at the end of 'Midnight.' They are band who mean business, the riff would say if it could speak. Black Honey further surprise fans with 'Bad Friends.' This is a song that - dare I say it - sounds quite trappy? The sauntering tempo, mixed with autotuned vocals and thunderous hi-hats (actually a sampled rattlesnake rattle repeated - what???) adds a new depth to the band's repertoire. Lead-singer Izzy stated that the shifting sounds of the track illustrate today's music shuffle-culture, with people shifting between songs and between genres with a click. It serves as a representation of that culture, but does not seek to replicate it. The shifting sounds alive within it ensures the listener won't feel comfortable with shuffling this one.
'Crowded City' features a bag-full of hooks, enough in one track to consist of a full album for any other band. Although the band have previously stated they aren't fans of modern pop music, this track sounds like a modern pop track you could hear featured on the credits reel of an action-packed movie. 'Hello Today' feels more typically indie rock, an Oasis-tinged anthem that although new, already feels like a classic.
The album has the feature of consistently slick pop production - but this stands out as the album's downfall. The majority of tracks on the LP shine as being strong and creative both lyrically and musically, but such sleek production seems to lose a chunk of the grit that defined the band's sound previously on prior EPs. Album opener, 'I Only Hurt the Ones I Love' is a clear example of such 'cleaning up'. It takes away a portion of the band's characteristics, but the new musical identities explored throughout Black Honey amalgamate to provide something that serves as building blocks for future albums to work upon.
All in all, 'Black Honey' is a cracking debut album. It shifts seamlessly between genres, from Americana-tinged indie rock, to high-production pop, to even trap. Black Honey set themselves up as a promising band to keep an eye on, one who can easily build on such a strong foundation, and aren't afraid to broaden their musical horizons.
By Jane Corscadden