Honeyblood at Koko

Last night at Koko marked Stina Tweeddale and Cat Myers’s biggest show to date. The Scottish duo have been growing in popularity over the past few years, but they are still getting used to headlining rather than supporting. Tweeddale likes to describe their sound as “scuzz-pop”, but it could also be thought of it as fem-pop, grunge or “venom-sweet”. 

The band in itself makes a statement because, unfortunately, it’s still fairly rare to see young girls playing electric guitar and drums, and in their lyrics Honeyblood invert expectations and explore themes of wildness and female strength. They like to flip these expectations on their heads with tracks like Babes Never Die, about a feminist dystopia with feral little girls running wild, and Sea Foam, which features lyrics like “We’ll break hearts” and “Hey hey! It’s just a little heartbreak!”.

The concert began with a very theatrical and futuristic introduction, including creepy child voices and flashing lights, which would have been an allusion to Babes Never Die. The rest of the show featured some really awesome light arrangements that fitted well with the themes of the songs, and moving spotlights that looked a lot like the light sensors seen in a bank heist movie. A screen behind the band displayed various woodland-like images, and although most of the time we couldn’t actually catch these images, what could be seen did really add to the visual atmosphere.

Stina Tweeddale has a beautifully ethereal voice, but unfortunately her microphone made it difficult to fully appreciate it. The mics sounded like they were turned up too high and they overpowered some of the lyrics, making it harder to enjoy songs like Hey, Stellar, and Justine, Misery Queen. Other tunes such as the well-written and relatable Cruel and Walking at Midnight sounded a lot better and the audience certainly perked up towards the end. All in all, Honeyblood delivered a fine and enjoyable show in the spotlight, but the duo still has a few things to learn.

Sophia Moss
Photos: Mike Garnell

For further information about Honeyblood and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Babes Never Die here: