Live review: Black Honey at Gorilla, Manchester

The explosive riffs and distorted guitars of 'Charlie Bronson', taken from Black Honey's latest album 'A Fistful Of Peaches' set the scene for the Brighton four-piece. As an opener, it more than does the job of letting the crowd know just what they are in for, with promises to "take you down with me."

Now three albums in, Black Honey have the stage presence of a chart-topping band along with the credentials to match. Confident and self-assured, Izzy B Phillips is everything you want in a guitar-rock frontwoman. She knows how to put on a show for their legions of fans and has us hanging onto her every word with captivating showmanship. 

Moving swiftly through their extensive set onto surf-pop tune 'Beaches', it felt reminiscent of the B-town heyday of some ten years ago (Swim Deep and JAWS, we are looking at you) and it was good to see their fun side served up with a little slice of nostalgia. 

Crowd-pleaser 'Spinning Wheel' marked the first mosh pit of the night. A mosh pit of sorts, it saw their young fan base running straight to the middle of the dancefloor with teenyboppers alike fist-pumping into the air. ‘Heavy’ reveals universally relatable feelings that bridge the gap from the artist to the listener that are both raw and vulnerable. "Pick me up, I feel so heavy, I don’t think I can fake it anymore.. still heavy, on my bedroom floor", is a candid insight into Izzy’s innermost thoughts.

'I'm A Man' shines a light on consent which is a topic close to the band's heart. Taken from 'A Fistful Of Peaches', which takes up over half of their set list, it is a cathartic record full of important and heavy-hitting social and political themes that aren’t talked about as much as they should be. 

Similar to this, 'Up Against It', is described by Izzy as a love letter to her younger self - or hopefully, a chance for their fans to take something from her tumultuous journey as a neurodivergent woman in rock. A spirited performance with an inner monologue to her younger self, which begins as a comforting message ("Give yourself a break, kid") and develops swiftly into a rousing call for action filled with love and warmth rather than the anarchist punk rock spirit that you might expect.

"It's okay to not know yourself yet but, in time, you'll feel alright", she tells us, in other words, take it from me, you will get through it, no matter how hard it feels at times.

Changing things up, the funky 70s-inspired tune 'Midnight' makes good use of Gorilla’s iconic mirror balls to create a Saturday Night Fever-esque scene. Packed with disco beats and poppy vocals, it was a curveball the audience didn’t expect. Nonetheless, it gave respite from the torrent of soaring guitar riffs to change up the tempo of the set. In fitting with the Abba revival of recent years, it was high time for a good old-fashioned dance with our nearest and dearest. 

'Run for Cover' picks up the pace and sees Izzy playfully crowd-surfing her way through the raucous 2020 hit. Almost 20 songs in, they lost no energy in their enigmatic performance. It left us wondering just how long we have left to see the fiery four-piece at such intimate venues.

Just before the final song 'Corrine', Izzy asks women and non-binary people to come to the front in order to create a safe space for their most anticipated tune whilst feeling supported by a crowd full of allies. More of this at gigs, please. All in all Black Honey delivered a strong performance where you could see a genuine and heartfelt connection with their young fan base. Achieved through empathetic songwriting and electric guitar riffs that make for a powerful and energetic show. 

Meg Roberts

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Header image credit: Black Honey (Facebook)