Artist: The Honeydips
Title: The Honeydips
Released: 20th September 2014
Originally Reviewed for The Punk Archive
OK, so really I can do this review in one paragraph:
Do you like surf-punk? Do you like messy, rock'n'roll/punk influenced guitar music that seems native to a beach or a half-pipe? Do you want to feel like the band you're listening to would probably play your house party for two crates of beer and some petrol money? Cool, then you are going to have fun with this EP.
That's basically all I need to say about The Honeydips’ début EP. It's simple, it's loud, it isn't too heavy, it's really fun to listen to and it's a free download (not that it needs to be). It is very much of its genre too: musically it has the simplicity of a punk band, the recording is pretty basic (and at times pleasingly sloppy), the vocals are so low in the mix that the lyrics are almost totally lost and there is so much reverb that it might have been recorded in a cave. Really, none of that matters though. Actually, it all adds to the overall effect of an EP that deserves to be listened to as a whole. It's six songs blend into one scruffy, bittersweet and oddly hypnotic quarter-hour wash of sound that ends as soon as it begins every time I listen to it. Of course, it is never quite clear weather the Lo-Fi thing is deliberate or down to bad mixing, but who cares: a DIY approach and a don't-give-a-fuck attitude are what give this band credibility. Keep the recording shitty. Keep not giving a fuck.
If you're really so busy that you only have time for two songs, try Graduated and Stop Kissing Me. Graduated has a rather sweet melancholic chorus and a nicely chilled out break down/guitar solo outro and Stop Kissing Me stands out for its repeated mantra of “I want to be swallowed by the sea / but I don’t want you drowning next to me” as it jumps energetically between half and double time.
I look forward to a second EP from these guys: I enjoyed this one a lot and I’d love to see some musical progression. Either way, check out The Honeydips. What they lack in substance they make up for in fun, and I mean that very much as a compliment.