Black Honey I Only Hurt The Ones I Love
Last one before our summer holiday and it’s another beauty from our long-time favourites Black Honey.
‘I Only Hurt The Ones I Love’ arrived last week with the exciting news that Black Honey’s long-awaited debut album is finally set to drop on September 21st. We’ve followed the band since their first incarnation as Kill Moon, and it was apparent even in those early days that singer and songwriter Izzy B Phillips was a remarkable talent who had an innate and prolific ability to produce songs after song that hit the musical sweet spot every time.
‘I Only Hurt The Ones I Love’ comes replete with a cinematic Westworld meets Godless video which casts Izzy prowling around a godforsaken town as a gun-slinging woman either bent on revenge or simply taking no shit. And taking zero shit has very much been the band’s ethos as they have done things the old-fashioned way, neither seduced by empty hype or offers of record deals which promise the world yet can often see bands signing away their own creative vision (and rights to their own music) .
Black Honey have always strived to create music on their own terms without any outside interference from the “suits” whose influence can so often dilute the very thing that makes a band special in the first place. Indeed Izzy has been quoted as saying “When you love what you do so much, it’s really easy to fight for it’ and has also mentioned that record labels had often “ruined” all her favourite bands. However, Black Honey have found a way to operate within the system whilst retaining creative control, and they continue to forge their own path by simply being fucking brilliant.
Izzy’s musical and stylistic influences certainly aren’t hidden, but she has the skill to use them to create music that never verges toward pastiche, instead it manages to seem both timeless yet fresh. So on ‘I Only Hurt The Ones I Love’ you may discern hints of Sinatra ( Nancy, not Frank) meets Manson (Shirley not Charlie) meets Del Rey (Lana not Bobo) but at its dark glittering heart resides that classic Black Honey sound which continues to subtly evolve.
Sometimes it’s not just the songs an artist puts on the debut album that marks them out as special but also the songs they can actually afford to leave off and Black Honey have already released a host of singles and EPs that play like a greatest hits selection. For example, we can’t think of many bands who could afford to leave quality tracks such as ‘Sleep Forever’ ‘Somebody Better, ‘Spinning Wheel’ ‘All My Pride’ and ‘Cadillac” to name but five, off a debut album* … Then again not all bands are Black Honey
*NB – Mind you all these tracks ARE available an amazing Deluxe edition – https://blackhoney.backstreetmerch.com/cds/self-titled-deluxe-cd
Black Honey’s self-titled debut album is released on September 21st
Track List
Only Hurt The Ones I Love
Midnight
Whatever Happened To You
Bad Friends
Blue Romance
Crowded City
Hello Today
Baby
Into The Nightmare
Dig
Just Calling
Wasting Time
UK festival dates:
12-14/07 2000 Trees, Cheltenham
12-14/07 Latitude Festival, Southwold
19-22/07 Truck Festival, Oxfordshire
20-22/07 Tramlines Festival, Sheffield
26-29/07 Kendal Calling, Kendal
04/08 – Bestival, Dorset
18/08 – RIZE Festival, Chelmsford
30/08-01/09 Electric Fields, Dumfries
31/08-02/09 Bingley Music Live, Bingley
October UK headline tour:
13/10 Thekla – Bristol
14/10 Concorde 2 – Brighton
15/10 Academy 2 – Birmingham
16/10 Norwich Arts Centre – Norwich
18/10 Church – Leeds
19/10 Riverside – Newcastle
20/10 Stereo – Glasgow
21/10 Academy 2 – Manchester
23/10 Rescue Rooms – Nottingham
24/10 Electric Ballroom – London
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