Saturday 20 December 2014

Albums of the Year 2014 #3 Honeyblood - Honeyblood


“I will hate you forever, scumbag sleaze, slimeball grease. You really do disgust me!” sings Stina Tweedale on Super Rat, a hate fuelled anthem and in a nutshell we have what this album is all about; plenty of bitterness and garage guitars that make a good old fashioned scuzz-pop sound. 

There’s quite a few obvious comparisons that get drawn out of the bag when talking about Honeyblood, plenty of them American, even though the band are from Scotland; Throwing Muses, Best Coast, Juliana Hatfield and The Breeders and we wouldn’t disagree with any of those. But what makes Honeyblood such a success is the songs. There’s hooks, melodies, harmonies and something quite euphoric about many of the vitriolic tunes contained on this record. It’s a record to throw (and flop) yourself violently around to on the indie disco (or bedroom) floor, particularly on the energetic and fiery Killer Bangs or opening mosher Fall Forever. Yet whilst Honeyblood is an angry sounding record it never becomes either overbearing or too inward looking; it gets the balance right, the songs are kept short, sharp and exciting, the guttural guitars simple. 

Honeyblood takes third place on our Albums of the Year 2014 list. Not only is this a thrilling indie rock record but it suggests that Honeyblood could be a name for a future as well.

Honeyblood - Super Rat

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