There’s nothing quite like a debut that doesn’t sound like a debut. From the jump, Black Honey Cult’s Black Honey Cult doesn’t feel like a first record – it feels like the sound of a band that’s been around long enough to know what the hell they’re doing. You can tell this isn’t some band fishing for an identity. They’ve been through it – collaborating, sweating it out in the underground, probably putting out a thousand different sounds, but now it’s here. And it’s alive.
The record’s got this heavy, greasy undercurrent to it. The guitars are jagged, messy, and loud. Johnny DeVilla and Travis Petersen aren’t looking to be pretty – they’re here to break shit down. The riffs come at you in waves, not all clean and perfect, but gritty as hell. You can hear the tension. It’s there in every note. No filters, no trying to be “cool.” Just pure, raw energy.
Jake Cavaliere’s key isn’t some throwaway texture; it’s there with purpose. It’s low and haunting, like something lurking just behind the noise, never fully stepping forward, but always shifting the mood. Spencer Robinson’s bass thunders on the first row, thick and steady, making sure it doesn’t lose momentum. And then there’s Garey Snider – his drums don’t take center stage, but they’re damn sure what keeps it all moving. Not flashy, just solid.
If you’ve spent any time in the darker corners of the music world, you’ll recognize the ghosts that haunt Black Honey Cult – there’s a bit of the Velvet Underground’s doomed romanticism, the raw psych of the 13th Floor Elevators, and a touch of that gnarly post-punk energy. But it doesn’t feel like a trip down memory lane. It’s more like the best bits of that stuff are bubbling up through the cracks. Nothing polished, nothing trendy. Just real.
The production’s raw. You can tell it was all done with intention – nothing’s clean, nothing’s sugarcoated. Paul Roessler (who’s done his share of stuff with the Screamers and 45 Grave) isn’t trying to make this album sound like anything you’ve heard before. Instead, he lets everything live in the mess – the feedback, the imperfections. And it’s exactly what it needs. That’s what makes this thing so captivating.
Is it clean? No. Is it polished? Hell no. But that’s what makes Black Honey Cult stick with you. It’s real, gritty, and the kind of music that doesn’t need a gimmick or a glossy photo shoot. It just needs to exist, because it does. This is a debut that feels like it could’ve come out of nowhere – but it didn’t. It feels like it’s been brewing for years.
So, yeah, it’s a debut. But if you didn’t know that, you’d think these guys had been making records like this for ages. It’s not perfect – it’s better than that. It’s alive. And that’s all that matters.
Follow Black Honey Cult on Facebook
Released by Heavy Psych Sounds on May 2, 2025
