Review: Honeybadger “Wakka”
Honeybadger is raged with chaos magic. The disobedient, gutter psychedelia Brighton band is as gritty as Nirvana and as hard-hitting as the Sex Pistols. With slasher riffs and snappy solos, “Wakka,” their 2023 closing single, concludes the year with a smashing bang.
Punk is best served with an attitude. In this case, Honeybadger has something to get off of their chest. Having grown tired of speeches with a tongue in cheek, they now demand action. Words don’t count. Changes are made through action. In “Wakka,” they call out hypocrisy.
Laced with Thom Yorke-style falsetto and Cobain-inspired spiky Sprechstimme, frontman Eddy’s vocal is easily the center of this piece, but “Wakka” wouldn't be half impactful without the punching drums, shaking the grounds with their commotion-starting hard punk rhythms.
Honeybadger proves that punk rock is not dead, but rage and attitude in their case have evolved with an expansive sonic palette. At the forefront, their performance rips a black hole on stage with the kind of hysteria and giving-it-out attitude that reminds you of grunge in the ‘90s, but musically, they are ahead of the time, riding the waves, splashing intensive psychedelic trance with a bold swing. Massive and unapologetic.
Formed in 2014 by brothers Joe and Eddy and friend Luca, the three-man punk band makes their instruments ring louder than a full band. They are regular noise makers around Brighton, but the world is a stage for these guys. They have played all around the U.K. and were featured on BBC Introducing and Wyatt Wendel’s The New Rock Show on Planet Rock. Their last single, “Cold Wind” also appeared on BBC Radio One. Inspired by Drenge, Them Crooked Vultures, Pretty Vicious, The White Stripes, and the like, Honeybadger is a pretty heavy band vibrating between hard punk and grunge.
My Life Story On the Making of “I'm A God”
How does "I'm A God" reflect your musical journey and growth as a band?
In some ways, it’s a good example of the hybrid nature in which we now work. It starts off entirely electronic and then finishes with Les Paul guitars, real bass and drums, and a string section.
Could you discuss the lyrical themes or messages conveyed in "I'm A God?”
The title is obviously provocative and the lyrics are meant to challenge our preconceptions of what a ‘god’ is. To so many people a god is still a divine comfort blanket, a concept for living a righteous life. To many others, it’s a footballer or a daytime TV celebrity.
I wondered how many complaints about blasphemy I would get on social media - I’ve had 1 so far. Which is an interesting exercise in itself. Obviously, it’s not (blasphemous) It’s a statement about our culture, by juxtaposing a real god next to a false idol it creates a collage of lyrical contrasts.
How does "I'm A God" fit into your overall artistic vision?
I’ve always loved ‘listing songs’ one of our best-known tunes is 12 Reasons Why I Love Her (1996) which is just a shopping list of love.
So in some ways, it’s very traditionally My Life Story.
What has been one of the most significant moments of your musical journey so far?
Recording Adele when she was just 11 years old ended up being significant when it wasn’t initially.
What do you enjoy most about performing live and connecting with your audience?
A sense of completeness. It’s the final act of all the hard work... writing, recording, and producing is the groundwork. Performing live is like going into labour!