Here we are at the late late show.
The 12 months late show.
Stina’s show was one that was cancelled because of, well you know what. It should have been a performance of her solo project EP ‘Souvenir of a Terrible Year’. Instead we just got the terrible year.
If you are familiar with Stina’s other work with Honeyblood (and you should be because we’ve written about them enough over the years) then you might find this as a bit of a departure.
Honeyblood were always a punky garage rock duo. Their songs were always catchy and had a general vibe of “I love you but…”
This performance felt more introspective. As you’d expect from a project created in isolation. Like it was exploring the reasons behind that.
Here we have Stina on guitar and vocals supported by strings, piano and drums. They were all colour-coordinated. Always top marks for bands who do that!
The set was a mix of the ‘Souvenir’ EP and some familiar Honeyblood songs performed in an unfamiliar way.
Like ‘Bud’. I’m not sure I can listen to this song the same way ever again. Played solo and slowly on guitar, it’s heartbreakingly sad.
Others like ‘The Human Condition’ really benefit from this arrangement. Giving them more depth. Everything sounded so lush.
I really hope they’ll do more shows like this. Or even record with this lineup. More people need to hear this.
Raveloe have been on my radar for a while but it is only very recently that I’ve had the chance to see them.
I saw Kim (vocals/guitar) and Paul (bass) playing an acoustic set at the end of the year. It was a good introduction hearing bare bones versions of their songs.
With a full band they sound incredible.
Particularly on the build up to last song ‘Keep Count’.
You know how sometimes a band or artist appears in front of you seemingly full formed? Well that’s this one.
The extra members add depth and atmosphere. It’s not just more guitars and volume. It’s multi-layered and intricate.
Most of these songs were from their upcoming album. If that can capture what they do live then it’ll be an album to watch out for.
(Images: Andrew McKenna)