Exactly a year ago, unsigned duo Honeyblood were playing the T Break stage at T in the Park. Now here they are with a cool label deal and a debut album that's easily one of the best of 2014.
Their surface style - a melodic collision of grunge/shoegaze/C86 - is something that's in favour right now, but there's more to this than fashion: the lyrics set out a feminist agenda that's sweetened by old-school girl-band harmonies. Nevertheless, every ex-boyfriend on the planet will wither at Super Rat ("scumbag, sleaze, slimeball, grease"), as every abuser will be humbled at Choker ("what doesn't kill you just makes you stronger"). Stina Tweeddale's defiant, don't-mess guitar and iron-will vocals are to the fore, but there's a rhythmic joie de vivre in Shona McVicar's drumming and a hefty rumble at the bottom end that negates any need for a bass guitar. No filler exists across a dozen songs, from rabbit-punch opener Fall Forever through moshpit instigator Killer Bangs, the latter simply another minor classic on a major indie album.
Alan Morrison
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