Photo + Words: Philippa Revitt
Black Honey rolled into Brudenell Social Club for their Soak album launch and turned the room into a family gathering of the devoted. Fans packed out the venue — old school die-hards in past tour t-shirts, new converts clutching merch, and even a couple of lads from Barnsley who’d deliberately avoided the record so their first listen could be live. At the table: signed posters, stacks of tees, and one-of-a-kind hand-stitched corsets. On stage: a band ready to prove Soak is their boldest, most dynamic record yet.
The setlist was a full sweep of their catalogue, weaving classics with fresh cuts. “To The Grave” kicked things off, before older gems like “I Like The Way You Die” and “Beaches” reminded everyone just how deep the Black Honey well runs. New tracks like “Soak” and “Carroll Avenue” hit with heavy punch, but it was “Spinning Wheel” that sparked absolute chaos — Izzy halting the song until the crowd was ready for the pit. After a cheeky reminder from a member of the audience that she “wasn’t going to sing it unless you do it,” the room exploded: spinning pit, dramatic pause, primal scream, straight into a full-throttle mosh.
Highlights kept coming. “Heavy” was greeted with an instant cheer (yes, guilty here), and “Slow Dance” gave the night a swooning centrepiece — “It’s called Slow Dance and it’s a love song,” Izzy teased, before the crowd turned it into a group chorus. A classic Yorkshire heckle soon followed, which Izzy jokingly declared the national anthem.
Props made their way in too: “Psycho” saw Izzy clutching a stage phone, shifting the tone with something effortlessly cool, while “Shallow” mixed hazy singalong chants with tambourines and arms around shoulders. Tracks like “Dead” and “Insulin” kept the energy surging, before the curveball single “Lemonade” slipped in as a reminder of the band’s knack for giving fans exactly what they need at exactly the right time.
Then came my personal standout — “Vampire in My Kitchen.” “It’s about the feeling of chasing something, a person, a feeling, not being in control,” Izzy explained, before the band launched into something darker, rawer, and more intimate than much of their catalogue. It built from stripped-back vocals into a raging, cathartic climax — sadness, rage, and beauty all rolled into one.
The closing run was pure release. “All My Pride”, “OK”, and “Corrine” had the room in full sing along mode, with Izzy calling all the girls and non-binary fans to the front for a final pit: “Boys, you’re allies, but this is their time — don’t embarrass us.” No one did. The room screamed every word to “Corrine,” and just like that, it was over.Black Honey’s Soak isn’t just another album — it’s a high-energy, emotionally-charged statement of everything they do best, with a few surprises along the way. Live, it’s even more undeniable.
Taped Magazine 