April 24, 2021

Concert Review: N.T. Honey – Wine Cellar April 23, 2021

N.T. Honey is the musical vehicle for Anya Hanis, and the brand-new album Accidental Punk has just dropped today and given a fast and furious workout for an enthusiastic core of fans down in one of our favourite underground venues.

The heart is Punk and the ingredients are many and eclectic. Stripped back and removed of any superfluous flab… Hanis is the singer and guitarist, the bass and drums players could be the same that are on the album with early Ramones in their instrumental attack and their economy.

High Tide starts and there is a nice wall of drone guitar. The vocals are lost but this is fixed by the next one Island. Melodic Surf guitar to start which leads to minimalist Punk drone riffs. Hanis’s voice has some similarity to Exene of the legendary LA punks X.

There are a couple of even newer acts to start and first one Wellness I manage to catch half their set. They are also in love with that guitar wall of sound powered by a relentless bass bottom. Simple melodies break the surface of the incoming waves. The vocals get buried.

The four-piece are Jess Morgan and Frances Carter on guitar and bass, Ary Jensen on guitar and James Sullivan on drums. I like the clumpy black ankle boots worn by the girls. Reminds me of the original days of Punk.

Their closing song Beach, which they describe as an anti-Capital anthem, has a quieter intro before cranking up the power and putting in some Garage Rock guitar licks.

Tom are also a relatively new four piece. Lillian Brown on synth and voice, Rachel Ashby guitar, Maddy Van Staden bass and Louisa Nicklin drums.

A little different to the other two bands tonight. Indie Rock and more in the New Wave minimalist Art tradition which broke pretty much at the same time as Punk.

Strange Body is a slow deliberate trance drone with lyrics like such a strange smile and burn it down rising up out of the hypnotic blanket.

Dump Him is similar but even smoother and dreamlike. Slow bass tones, brief splashes of guitar colour. They do the same with Waiting which is stripped right back to a catchy drone beat with some judicious licks of Surf guitar. Sounds like something from those Welsh cult Pop Minimalists of the late Seventies, Young Marble Giants.

Both acts brand-new and I am sure we will be hearing more from them.

N.T. Honey have warmed up after the opening two songs and they stretch out on the next, Medusa. Drums played with tom-toms to start. Nice rumbling bass. A basic rhythm guitar riff is extended out with a bit of Metal thrown in. Some B52’s in the vocals.

Suspicious Cat is Surf Punk with cat shrieks and wails.

They are into brutal battering rhythms with melody lines woven in from the guitar. It is all urban and production-line and really, is a progression from the Bo Diddley school of tribal Rock’n’Roll, which is one of the foundation stones of American music from the Fifties on. You can start with the Rolling Stones and the Animals. (I know, they are not American). Bo has also claimed to be an originator of Punk, not without some justification.

A good example of this is Runaway, which is an earlier single and the only non-album track they play tonight. A simple melody line is picked out on guitar, then the relentless rolling train riff kicks in. Compare it to Hey,Bo Diddley.

A nod to the drummer who acts as the anchor for all this.

Just to drive the point home, on closing song Dreaming of Days Hanis calls on Chris to get on the stage and play some maracas!

A short set from the Honey’s but perfectly formed. Old School Punk from its American Roots. Go and get the album too.

Rev Orange Peel