‘Babes Never Die’ is the second album from Honeyblood, a Glasgow-based duo now comprising Stina Tweeddale and Cat Myers (the line-up has changed since the first record back in 2014). This is just such a perfect record, by turns jaggy, harmonic, angry, sweet, double-edged and original. You can of course hear the influences, to these ears Sleater-Kinney, Chvrches, Motorhead, Abba, well…?
There is a lot of attitude, riffs and maybe some autobiography in these ten tracks, bookended by two intro/outro instrumentals. It also positively crackles with sexual tension, bitchiness, wistfulness and sheer bloody mindedness. There are too some dark Edinburgh tales, another side of the Reekie so blackly invoked on The Filthy Tongues’ amazing ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ album earlier this year, more the crappy suburbs and schemes than downtown Leith mind…
The guitar/drums (plus booming bass, not sure who played that) setup is very back to basics but very versatile and songs like ‘Ready for the Magic’ and ‘Sea Hearts’ are updated rockers, coming from a long tradition but somehow very modern. The phrase “we don’t give a fuck” kind of sums up the approach, and this album has a lot of fun doing just that.
‘Love is a Disease’ adds a deceptively simple synth line and again just piles on the melodies, the harmonies, with Stina’s vocals swooping and attacking their unfortunate victims at will – and the Pixies-esque instrumental breakdown truly rocks…
This is the kind of disc that you can lose yourself in, and it has not left BM’s player (the limo one, mainly) since it was first stuck in the machine around this time last week. Fatcat have yet another Scottish belter on their hands.
Further track ‘Christine, Misery Queen’ contains the cutting line “what I wouldn’t do, to get a truth serum to you” while ‘Gangs’ effectively uses a more complex synth and Spanish guitar backing to examine the school of South Edinburgh hard knocks, for girls. There are no weak tracks here although time prevents all being mentioned, just buy it, download it, stream it, you know the drill readers, BM is making a heavy suggestion here…
This album is a major accomplishment for the duo and has got to be one of many, including BM’s, albums of the year.
Keep it coming Honeyblood, you certainly have this reviewer hook, line and whatever else you are after…