- By way of Canberra and Sydney, fresh four-piece Honey 2 Honey are releasing their debut EP, A Taste Of… Newly signed to Chapter Music, the group has two Canberra members - Rory Stenning (of Raus) and drummer Luke Keanan-Brown. The additional two members Del Lumanta (of Gas, Video Ezy and Basic Human) and Daryl Prondoso (also of Basic Human, not to mention Phone) reside in Sydney. Together, with elements of dub and disco ever present, they make some exceptional electrified funk.
Tone Of Voice, the lead single off the EP, has a bouncy bassline that is complimented by a smooth synth progression a minute and a half in. I must mention the dubbed out auxiliary percussion and periodic grunts too. Under The Hangar is a sultry groover with some homoerotic overtones. A funky syncopated bassline is matched with spacey electric piano. There are plenty of electronic effects and dubbed out sounds. The third track, confusingly titled 4 is an off-kilter dubby groove which is tremendous. At a point it goes in a sort of jazzy, cosmic synth direction (all the while the rhythm section has it held down). Colony Music starts with some dark synth chords before another dubby groove sets in. Every track is really elevated by the deft drumming of Keanan-Brown, resulting in a set of jams that sound lively and concise.
Honey 2 Honey successfully explore the danceable end of the new wave / post-punk spectrum with this first release. They invoke other great Aussie groups like Holy Balm (whose Yoni Hochman recorded the EP with Andrew McLellan (well known for his work as Enderie and Cured Pink), Lace Curtain and No Zu – although these experimental trendies are a still a bit different from those bands. For me A Taste Of… has the same energy as Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sessions, or the dubbed out works of A Certain Ratio. They say you should be happy with what you have and this EP is great, but I am very definitely looking forward to the album!
- Hill Folk.