'Written & Directed' Black Honey album review

‘Written & Directed’ Black Honey album review.

When Izzy B. Phillips, front woman for Brighton quartet Black Honey strides out onto a stage, there is only one place your attention should be… eyes front, glued to the www. An absolutely spellbinding focal point for the band, Black Honey has been building into something truly special in front of our very eyes over the past couple of years. Now, with the release of their second album, “Written & Directed”, the Brighton band has shown what they’re truly capable of. Packed with attitude, this cocktail of electro-pop, 60s, and 70s Americana, and gritty, dirty rock n’ roll is so potent, one sip and you’ll be seeing stars.

Strutting out to the buzzing “I Like The Way You Die”, Black Honey kicks this album off with the kind of lead track that should kick off any album. Grabbing your attention right from the first seconds, it’s a brash, raucous start. “Run For Cover” is equally rough and ready, and tips a nod to the distorted gritty sounds of bands like Queens of the Stone Age.

Underneath all the grit and attitude though, is an absolutely delightful pop heartbeat. “Run For Cover”, for example, might not sound out of place in a QOTSA set-list but, wrap your chops around that chorus when it kicks in and you’ll be hooked. Obviously, the star of the show is front woman Izzy, who, by the time the album reaches track three “Beaches” is smashing her way through the competition with the kind of display that will have the media labelling her one of the most important women in rock before too long.

Like the band, Phillips’ voice is both packed with attitude and dripping with pop star traits and, as the album progresses through the religion-inspired “Believer”, a sure-fire smash hit, and the massive “I Do It To Myself”, she’ll have you under her spell. Having started the album with such crackling energy, “Written & Directed” becomes much more than that as it weaves its magic on tracks like the breathtaking “Beaches” and the sassy “Fire”. Closing with the haunting “Gabrielle”, this mesmerizing album has shown how much Black Honey has grown into one of the most exciting bands on the UK rock circuit in 2021.

Track List