By Jase Walker
Honey Revenge marks the last show of seven consecutive gigs in a row for me since last week. I am absolutely exhausted but I wouldn’t spend my time any other way than watching quality music acts and Honey Revenge with Letters Sent Home is no exception. I will admit I’m a bit envious of the ÜK getting Artio as well because I love them but Letters Sent Home are equally as fantastic and I can’t wait to see what tonight brings. Haarlem, let’s have it.
With Letters Sent Home opting for a subtle walk on introduction, the crowd is deathly silent in anticipation. They get us kicked off and the singer walks on shortly after but admittedly it feels a little quiet at first although that could just be me having seen some very loud stuff over the past week. I adore their singer’s voice though, it’s very soft and sweet which against some riffy music is something I really love.
They remind me a bit of the likes of Vukovi, Yonaka, or maybe Future Palace and Ankor (although with no uncleans), solid bits of melodic and rhythmic work, synth backing and a focus on being energetic and upbeat. Good bit of movement on stage as well, being animated on stage at shows like this is super important and they’ve got the crowd focused on them. I’m really enjoying their focus on melody while still maintaining when to go a bit harder even when playing songs that are more along the lines of a slower ballad.
There are actually some uncleans that can be heard on the backing track but are fairly subdued in the mix and I think it’d be great if they could be done live from one of the other members. I do really wish that the guitars and bass were a fair bit louder and more present as it makes the drums feel a bit bare, just a bit more force and this would help drive things brilliantly. The music itself is pretty damn good and it’s absolutely the sort of stuff I love right now and I can’t wait to give their album a proper listen, it’s such a good mix of metal, pop punk and straight up pop music sensibilities. They’ve got a real skill for writing enjoyable music and I’m already looking forward to seeing them again but with one requirement: turn it up a bunch, as that music deserves getting blasted hard!
Similar to Letters Sent Home, Honey Revenge opt for a more subtle walk on but the moment they kick off, it’s pretty damn clear the sets off with a bang. Poppy, funky, punky, riffy, all that good shit right from the start and they’re all looking pretty in pink as well. Every part of this band is grooving big time, the bass, drums, guitar, even the vocals, and the crowd is lapping it up and there’s barely anyone who isn’t dancing along. Of course barring the drummer, everyone in the band is bouncing around the stage and having a great time, they mention this is the first ever European show as well so I feel pretty privileged to be here for that too! I’ve said it so many times but this massive surge in pop rock recently has been a wave I’ve been oh so happy to ride and Honey Revenge are about to be the latest addition to my heavy rotation in that regard.
It might be late in the tour but Honey Revenge certainly aren’t showing any fatigue, especially considering the amount of fun they’re clearly having on stage. It’s fantastic seeing how much feedback they’re getting and how so many people know the words so well for what is their first European show too. Some elements remind me a lot of Pale Waves, others Vukovi, but man I really love this funky streak they’ve got going throughout everything.
This is exactly the sort of music you could blast from a speaker on a warm day at a park, beach, whatever, anywhere you fancy interrupting the quiet with some real feel good music. They’ve even got a Conga line….pit (?) going too, what an outrageously fun show this has been so far. There’s even time for a quick rock paper scissors between the bass and guitar players. I love silly stuff like this on stag:, bands gotta have fun too ya know?
Honey Revenge are seriously impressive with their stage performance and sound, it’s clearly a well rehearsed show that they have a ton of fun with. It’s not easy by any means for many bands to break out to international shows, especially for American bands to finally pull it off considering the staggering cost it takes to do this. I really hope they manage to make this trip worthwhile and return again because for both bands tonight, Letters Sent Home and Honey Revenge alike, deserve the success as both have a fantastic style. Music that touches on many tough subjects while remaining resoundingly upbeat is a wonderful flash of colour amongst more sombre or “tough” sounding acts.
It’s been a shorter set than expected but by no means has it been disappointing. Honey Revenge have absolutely slayed it and I’ve got a vision in my head of them going on tour with Enter Shikari, what a pairing that would be eh?
What a fantastic show to wrap up such a marathon run of shows for me I can’t wait to see both bands again in future!
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