ALBUM REVIEW: Honey Revenge – ‘Loving And Losing’

There’s a wave of relief that washes over the end of Loving And Losing. Not in a “thank Christ it’s over” sense, but a “wow, they really it in ‘em after all” one. Yes, somehow, without prior warning, Honey Revenge have made one of the best pop-rock albums of the year.

For context of how significant that is, remember that their debut Retrovision was nothing to write home about. It was okay, a little better than average for pop-rock in 2023, but that’s about it. Moreover, it felt like a ‘buzz band’ album—enough runway for hypesters and industry folk to justify bigging them up for a few months, but not so much that Honey Revenge would step on the toes of the next one to come around. And with the three-year interim since Retrovision came out, that could’ve been entirely possible. So how did we jump from, like, a six-out-of-ten album (at best) to this?

Well, there’s a couple of reasons, but none of so fundamentally code-rewriting that Honey Revenge are unrecognisable. Stand Loving And Losing next to its predecessor and it seems like an entirely sensible follow-up. Both are polished and catchy in a lot of the same ways, even drawing from similar lyrical wells of Devin Papadol’s self-doubt and negativity. Loving And Losing, though…it just snaps into place like nobody’s business and is all the better for it. The first two-thirds or so are bulletproof bangers, only wavering slightly when Freaks Of Nature slows down and loosens up. Even then, though, Risk is directly after that, so we’re not out of bangerdom for too long.

The craft on these is what’s worth highlighting, first and foremost. Honey Revenge aren’t revolutionising modern, high-gloss pop-rock, but they’re certainly putting more thought into it than a lot of their contemporaries. They’ve tucked and tightened the formula to a science, without coming across as clinical or mechanical. That’s where songs like Run Your Mouth and Sunday Scaries come in, with their breakneck choruses that Honey Revenge funnel every drop of pop-rock purpose into. Even Trust Issues and Sorry Much—the lightest, spunkiest tracks on this whole thing—take flavourless alt-pop circumspection off the table with how vibrant they are. There are TBMs that don’t burrow as deeply as the earworm on the former.

Even better, Honey Revenge don’t just stop there. They could, and they’d still have another better-than-average album under their belt. But there are moments here where Honey Revenge actually want to show off flair and creativity, and not be caught under the genre’s low ceiling. It’s where Donny Lloyd shines most, something which guitarists in modern pop-rock outfits don’t tend to do. They feel like a valued member of the group, for a start, allowed to hold some presence on Risk and Butterfly Effect, and especially Poison Apple Baby when augmented with its scorched, brick-like synths. Moreover, there are actual solos and bars of dexterity on Loving And Losing that are even less commonplace, and that are always good. Some added lift to Run Your Mouth or ostentatious sizzle next to Hot Commodity’s wire-tight bass thump count for a lot, but it’s Trust Issues that comes through most. It speaks to Honey Revenge’s creative character that they chose a guitar solo instead of a saxophone here, despite that being the easy stylistic match for this cut in particular.

Again, it’s that extra step of effort that proves invaluable for Loving And Losing. For the most part, these are compact songs with a number of moving parts, and you feel the effect of that. Sunday Scaries, in both sound and lyrics, toes the line between celebratory, anxious and out-and-out reckless, where gurgling and sloshing into its final leg is such a well-done thematic mirror. A bit later, Hot Commodity frames Papadol’s worries of being underestimated outside of fame and status as a strutting, bad-bitch pop anthem: “I’m a hot commodity / And everybody says they want a part of me”. There’s an angle to her writing that only adds more to Honey Revenge’s whole package. Pitched between 2000s emo’s charmingly overwritten ways and a more contemporary brand of vocabulistic ear-catching, there’s a lot of detail to pick up on and enjoy. You don’t stumble upon a line as specific as “Got my Paramore tattoo removed” by accident, or out of necessity to fill space.

Honestly, it’s all pulled off so much without a hitch that Honey Revenge don’t leave a lot of room to complain. Do you want a complaint? Erm…Papadol has a weird pronunciation of Inevitable’s title? Yeah, there’s not much else to muster beyond that, or at least nothing that isn’t instant glossed over by how excellent everything around it is. It’s almost unthinkable that Honey Revenge, of all acts, would be at that level, but here it is. Loving And Losing: a true sleeper triumph, more so than could’ve possibly been expected.

For fans of: Stand Atlantic, The Home Team, Arrows In Action

‘Loving And Losing’ by Honey Revenge is released on 18th September on Thriller Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall