Olivia Alsept-Ellis |
“They are like rock and roll princesses,” the man at the bar leaned in to mention as I paid for my drink.
“Their name is Honeyblood,” I responded. He didn’t get ‘it.’ This man, sitting alone at the bar and cooing over the sweetness of the two girls on stage, didn’t get it at all.
The band name says it all. Honeyblood is a reluctantly-sweet female duo.
Christina Tweeddale, who got her musical start with Boycotts, is the singer and guitarist for this project. She has the pouty voice of Danielle Sullivan (from Wild Ones) singing with all the punky chaos of a Sleigh Bells song. The lyrics are admittedly charming, although only upon delivery by Tweeddale. “I will hate you forever” goes the chorus, as the crowd takes out their camera phones. About halfway through the set, she hit her head on the microphone. Accidentally adorable--but only accidentally.
The drummer, Shona McVicar, is a seriously too cool chick. In between the beat, she would find time to casually flip her hair before moving toward some high-hats. Together, they achieve the sound that Best Coast may have set out to create, without the (often painful) valley-girl overtones. And these two women had more than enough charisma to fill the stage.
Duos these days seem to be all the rage; Phantogram, Tennis, Beach House, My Body, Sleigh Bells, and Best Coast. All of these, you might notice, are a male and female combination. There are very few indie projects that are solely female. Surprisingly enough--Pop music is the backdrop for female duos, such as Icona Pop and Tegan & Sara.
But, on a larger scale, women still make up a small percentage of the music industry. An all-female project is a political statement.
So no Sir, they aren’t “princesses.” In fact, Honeyblood is veering madly away from typical gendered roles for females. Such as the princess, or eye candy, on the stage.
These two girls from Glasgow held their own while touring with the strongly-established We Were Promised Jetpacks. The crowd of the Doug Fir stood, enamored.
Girls nearby whispered, “I want to meet them!”
“I want to marry them!” they cried.
I saw the guy next to me held his beer with his teeth as he frantically texted a friend, “the opening act is blowing me away!”
Honeyblood really does have an undeniable mass appeal. The kind worth potentially spilling your beer over.
