Black Honey are back with western bang 'Believer'

The eccentric, western, indie concoction of Black Honey’s pop fused single ‘Believer’ sends us through shifts of Bible Belt gospel, John Wayne, Quentin Tarantino and late Cage The Elephant with an absolutely riveting storyline and atmospheric three minute thriller which feels like it would accompany any radio station or coffee shop across the globe. Black Honey as a band are broadening their horizons through eloquent and diverse imagery which changes and transforms their sound and public perception every single time they write a new record. 

This song has Blues Rock influences, sounding similar to that of ‘The Black Keys’ but with more of a punch and a zing than most other Indie rock bands. This is definitely an artsy-pop take on an outlandish theme which does well to transcend the current music industry itself and take the listener out of the genre labels and into a free flowing landscape, where music is a much more fluid entity, creating a refreshing change of pace. 

Black Honey have done everything from 80’s disco to Southern Belle and Surfer riffs, but this feels like the most visually stimulating take they’ve done to date. Ditching the rock choruses, and the almost ‘Riot Grrrl’ vocals for something much more reflective and sonnet-esque. The lyricism of the single sounds almost like a prayer in a monastery - and is delivered by vocalist Izzy Bee Phillips who throughout the video is being kidnapped by the other members of the band and delivered to a  pure and divine glowing figure depicting Jesus who is beautifully represented as a strong woman of colour, with complete authority on who casts judgement over the band, kneeling at her feet, whilst the line in the background repeats like a mantra “I’m a believer baby”. Cleverly this record merges actual lines from the Bible with their own lyricism, something that helps to create a wonderful sense of imagery laced throughout this entire art project assisting in the transportation of the listener to a far away land.

The lyrics throughout the single touch on many parts of the human condition from what we think belief really is to what our perceptions as humans really are, one thing Black Honey do with complete authority is package really deep meaningful and clever thought points in their records. They then leave it up to the listener to unpack what at first feels like a very simple pop song, and realise that what they are witnessing is more of an art exhibition than simply just three minutes audio stimulation. 

So much of Black Honeys identity comes from their visual approach to music, I cannot help but hope that the audience for this song don’t lose out by hearing it first jammed into a modestly curated Spotify playlist rather than with it’s partnering video, as I think there’s something to marvel in when watching the classic western video unravel in front of you. 

‘Believe’ by Black Honey looks like a very simple song, yet tells an incredible story of empowerment, representation and an idealised view on the world and what as humans we think perception truly is. From its quietly delivered blend into the background vocals juxtaposed with forefront trumpets, this entire single feels like something that is both tiny and gargantuan, both gritty yet smooth, and also bitter yet so very sweet.

As a current BIMM Brighton student Black honey are a band we all hold quite close as they went on the same journey we are all on right now, and we all wish them the very best of luck in the future, they’re doing us very proud indeed.

If you haven’t listened to ‘Believe’ By Black Honey yet I would recommend you do so on all known streaming platforms. 

Ryan Forecast

Instagram: @ryanforecast

Twitter: @ForecastRyan

Image: https://blackhoneyuk.co.uk