Review Summary: Only 90’s kids remember the last tides of Thatcherism razing the country to the ground, and the nervous cultural climate that gave way to Size Zero and the corporatisation of club culture, but at least there were banging rock tunes.
London’s Honey Lung come fully formed, not old enough to have fully lived the 90s, but still able to capture the glittering remnants, a sensitive yet muscular rock beast with a love of shoegaze,
The Smashing Pumpkins, and
Ash's first album. Riffs are repeated ad infinitum, but with enough care that they never overpower, always floating delicately above the rhythm section, and
Kind of Alone is as much a breeze as it is a head rush.
'Perfect V' is a storm of an opener, obviously referencing the Pumpkins’ 'Cherub Rock', but if you’re going to ape someone, ape the best. Jamie Batten’s vocals are pronounced and obvious, and he knows his way around a mammoth chorus hook. He navigates his guitar round melodies in the last half in an epic build-up of punk energy. 'End of Time' is a power pop gem, reminiscent of
Feederin their underrated heyday.
'Dirt' and 'Something' are delicate noise pop ballads, the latter fattened up from its demo recording, into something that’s constantly chasing a heavenly and utterly beautiful crescendo, a fleeting capture of being young and dumb, and suddenly you’re remembering that the TV series Skins lied to you, but what the hell. It’s the best song on here, and all that’s left for 'Real Reason' to do is provide another crunchy pop tune to drive the point home that Honey Lung are an exceptionally exciting prospect in the current scene of exceptionally exciting young rock bands such as
Inevitable Daydream and
GANG.
