Pale Honey Produce Clear & Confident Debut

2015 and girl power is at an all time high. Ignore the false prophets of Megan Trainor looking for a future husband, or Carly Rae Jepson who just really likes you, for Pale Honey aren’t so polite.

 

The Swedish duo hailing from Gothenburg, are already drawing in PJ Harvey and White Stripes comparisons even from their first single “Youth”. It’s easy to see why, playful guitar riffs and subdued drums quickly lead to a gritty assault at the drop of a hat on the chorus.  But what sets them apart is guitarist/singer Tuya Lodmark’s sultry vocals, that remain an emotional passion throughout the debut.  “I guess there’s no other way, I wish there was another way” on slow burner “Bandolier” sounds genuinely heart wrenching due to Lodmark’s personal vocals.

It’s not all raw energy though, clear and confident producing from Anders Lagerfor guides the album. No more so on “Fish”, where the raucous energy seems to invert briefly and rewind, before bursting forth again.

The captivating debut that draws influences from Summer Camp’s hazy vibes on track “Desert” with its lazy coos. Or the cowbell heavy Fiction sounding like a female fronted Yuck.

Sadly though Pale Honey partly due to similarities in name and  being a female drum and guitar duo will always be compared to closer to home Honeyblood. So much so, if heard unguided you could be mistaken into thinking this was Honeyblood album 2. That’s not to say Pale Honey aren’t original. If anything they utilize additional creativity like an 80s style synth on “Lonesome” or echo heavy vocals on “Sleep” to broaden the variety on the debut. But with lyrical content based around relationships, empowerment, and generally whatever floats their boats you can see why Honeyblood may be on the tips of everyone’s tongues.

But why should that not make this a brilliant and creative album. It’s not by any means linear, each track beats independent of the other thanks to the clever rock drums of Nelly Daltry. So let the naysayers talk, and give praise to Pale Honey. One more female duo not afraid to say things as it is, write their own tracks, and inspire even more fantastic music is ok with me.

To find out more about Pale Honey
click here. To visit the Pale Honey Facebook page
click here. Words by Jack Wood

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