Honeyblood are everything the modern ‘indie-grunge’ band should aspire to be: badass, humorous and most importantly, willing to take risks.

As first support, the local boys from Breathe Panel take to the stage; a dull room of murmured chit chat is immediately transformed into an ambient space of soothing sound and hard hitting coarse vocals. Singer, Nick, brings a certain sense of deliberate awkwardness to his performance, saying very little, in an almost shy way, yet this only suits the vibe Breathe Panel create in a fantastical manner and make the band really stand out from the majority of most supporting artists. A great start to the evening.

Sheffield support, Eat Fast, then arrive providing a much grungier aspect to the evening. Popping guitars accompanying intense screeching vocals, almost as though it were a mixture between bands like Tame Impala crossed with Nirvana. It is a bizarre, yet incredibly welcoming sound and offered the perfect warm-up to what was yet to come.

As the duo, vocalist and guitarist Stina Tweeddale and drummer Cat Myers, enter the stage, it is filled with a sea of sparkle from Stein’s glittered tights and silver skirt whilst Cat rocks a luminescent sequined t-shirt, which I'm sure many will be on the hunt for. We are immediately greeted with the band’s newest release ‘Ready For The Magic’. From the offset everything is above and beyond what was expected; Stina dominates the entirety of the stage and Cat too is impossible to look away from.

Every drumbeat is perfectly timed as each harmony is perfectly executed. Cat’s ability to play such complex drum patterns in coherence with such a high standard of harmony is certainly a skill which does not fail to amaze throughout the entirety of the show.

As the first track comes to an end, Stina informs us that they’re going to be playing “A few of the newer ones,” from their new album Babes Never Die, due to be released early next year. As the next track commences, it’s clear that Honeyblood have not only developed their sound in terms of songwriting but the number certainly does possess a little more ‘edge’ than their older material. The addition of synthesised drums and bass too is very enticing and gives the sound a whole new level of depth, completely different to any of their previous material.

The set continues with a selection of their new tracks. Within each of the new songs, you can certainly see a drastic variation from the last; some have a larger stress on punchy drops and heavy instrumentals whilst others reflect the softness of Stina’s vocals, demonstrating just how much mastery and control she has. One highlight from the new material comes in the form of one track, presumably to be called ‘Maybe I’, which really shows off just what Honeyblood are all about. Intense heartfelt lyrics and a unique take on a grungy sound which makes Honeyblood one of the hottest bands on the scene today. Another highlight comes in the form of a drum interlude, Cat’s precision and emotion whilst playing is completely immersive, she almost becomes a beacon of sparkling sequins and intensely complex drums of an incredible level.

As the set begins to come to a close, Stina playfully announces, “Here’s an older one!” The entire crowd leaps into dance at the first note of ‘Choker’. Similarly, too, encore tracks ‘Super Rat’ and ‘Killer Bangs’ have every person in the audience screaming every lyric back at the girls.

Playing a setlist composed of almost entirely new material no one has heard, to a near sold out room, is always incredibly risky and can leave many fans coming away feeling completely deflated. For Honeyblood, however, the opposite can be said. After announcing they had played near every track from the upcoming release, Stina says “So… what did you think?” The entire crowd erupts into a sea of applause, the largest of the night. Sure, it might have been nice to have one or two more crowd-pleasers in the set, but it is clear that no one, myself included, has come away from the show feeling let down. As such, to be able to take such a risk and flawlessly pull it off, leaves nothing but the upmost respect for Honeyblood, as we eagerly await their return to Brighton, following the release of the now highly-anticipated, Babes Never Die.
Ben Walker

Website: honeyblood.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/honeybloodeatitup
Twitter: twitter.com/yumhoneyblood

Read our New Music Q&A with Breathe Panel HERE.