Black Honey

Black Honey emerged from Brighton as an English indie rock foursome whose sound fused girl-group pop with jagged alt-rock riffs, pairing Lana Del Rey-inflected singing with the gauzy shoegaze textures of 1990s outfit Lush. Following a run of late-2010s singles and their self-titled 2018 debut LP, the quartet leaned harder into heavily distorted blues rock on the follow-up Written & Directed, issued in 2021.

The group’s foundations were laid when vocalist-guitarist Izzy Baxter crossed paths with guitarist Chris Ostler at university in Brighton and the two began collaborating on material. Drummer Tommy Taylor came aboard next, succeeded by a rotating cast of bassists. Early on the band performed under the names What’s Your Vice? and then Kill Moon; during the latter phase Taylor moved to bass while his housemate Tom Dewhurst took over the drum kit, locking the final lineup. Steady local gigs around Brighton helped refine both their sonic approach and visual identity, prompting the switch to Black Honey—a moniker chosen for its juxtaposition of shadowy and saccharine associations. Visual touchstones such as Andy Warhol, Kurt Cobain, Blondie, and the Milky Bar Kid further shaped their presentation.

The first single, “Sleep Forever,” surfaced in 2014 alongside a self-titled EP; “Corina,” “Teenager,” and “Madonna” followed in 2015. After the 2016 release of the Headspin EP, the band earned support slots at Alexandra Palace alongside Royal Blood plus appearances at Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds. While maintaining a busy tour schedule they prepared their first album, recruiting producer Emre Ramazanoglu—known for work with Lily Allen and Noel Gallagher—to capture the sessions. The resulting self-titled debut arrived in 2018. New tracks began appearing in 2020, setting the stage for Written & Directed, whose denser, more aggressive sonics marked a clear departure from the earlier record.