Album Review: Babes Never Die by Honeyblood

Honeyblood is a two person band, guitar and drums, that have put out two albums. Shona McVicar was the drummer on the first album, but she left the band shortly after and was replaced by Cat Myers. From what I can gather McVicar left the band to become a dentist. The band is fronted by Stina Marie Claire Tweeddale, a long name. She writes the songs, sings and plays the guitar, Myers plays the drums. I picked a live video of theirs instead of a produced video because I think that Myers is spectacular and you don't get a feel for that anywhere but in the live stuff I've seen. I think she's too tuned down on the album and it's her driving beats that really makes this album work for me. In fact it's the musicianship that makes this band work I think more than the lyrics or the vocals.

This is not to knock on Tweeddale.  The songs are good and smart and she's a good vocalist, but that is not what makes this album grab you, it is the mix of Myers and Tweeddale driving the sound that makes you sit up and listen.  You listen to a song like "Hey, Stellar" and you do not miss the bass or the keyboards and you realize that bands like Fleming and John may have been better off if they had stripped down their sound.

I mentioned Fleming and John here for a reason.  For reasons I can't understand listening to this album made me think of three groups.  The Sundays, Fleming and John, and Cocteau Twins.  These are three groups I have spent many hours listening to so that's a good thing.

I'll be very interested to see what they do next.  There are moments on this album where it wanders off course a bit and so it would be nice to see them tighten up the songs for their next album.  Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.

Here is some Fleming and John to end the last review of 2016.