OK by Black Honey

8th Mar 2023 — 1 Comment

Sometimes being OK doesn’t mean being happy and that is actually OK

Black Honey by Harriet Brown

Are you happy? A question you may have been asked by a concerned friend or parent or by that odd drunken character who’s seen you down 10 tequila shots in a sitting. They want you to be happy, you want to be happy but sometimes to stretch yourself into a smile seems too much.

OK by Black Honey

Ok by Black Honey is a musical remedy to this pressure. Wanting someone to be happy of course, for the most part, comes from a place of genuine love and concern or a person’s well-being but when it is not wrapped in the context of the person’s situation it becomes dismissive. A depressive episode can fluctuate, happening for years or just days at a time, it is a reoccurring spiral that often has no trigger or tunnel light. Of course, happiness is the optimal feeling, even when it is fleeting, but when it feels like a mountain climb then smoky being okay is enough.

Black Honey Captured by Eva Pentel

The devotion to friendship comes through with a battle cry as the thudding drums drive the distorted guitar riffs. This raw, empowered intro is met with Phillip/s cascading vocals that pour over the pulsating bass before booming in the chorus. OK is a shield against the happiness myth, the belief that if you are not happy you are not normal, reminding us that sometimes when life gets too much or the rain is just too heavy that to be unsettled, to b dissatisfied is okay.

Released as part of their upcoming album A Fistful Of Peaches, set to come out on the 17th of March, it is clear that this new honey era will expose a more personal side. A kaleidoscope of emotional corridors, ranging from the monstrous to the manic, the hopeful to the panic, the love and the loss, a trip round the colourful house of life. This new album promises to continue the roadmap that has seen them find homes from Brighton to national stages. There is an obvious introspective take in this new sound with limited external influence this is a journey into the psyche, the unseen bits.

“You think that you’ve got this, don’t ya?
I sound like a hypocrite right now
Maybe you don’t need a hero
Maybe this was all just one big mistake” Black Honey OK lyrics

Ok is self-reflective, lead singer Izzy Baxter Phillips critiquing herself for “trying to be a Romeo-style hero when I’m so utterly ill-equipped to help anyone. “Whilst moth of us don’t have a degree in phycology or a qualification for therapy, having basic empathy is a human trait, wanting another to be okay and trying to get them there is heroic in its own way. Of course, most ailments cannot simply be solved with a cup of tea, a conversation and possibly a hug it is a starting point. Remember not to project or over-protect, listen to them.

If a friend is in therapy, buttress their progress, be patient with them you wouldn’t ask someone with a broken leg to go on a run so follow a similar principle when it comes to mental health. On describing the story behind the song Phillips explained “it’s a love story I wrote for my friend who was getting high all the time to dull anxiety. I didn’t want them to be struggling anymore and this song is like ‘I will stand by you and if you need a weird 10 mins where you smoke weed after drinking 8 pints till you whitey. If that’s what you need to do then it’s okay’.

The music video for OK is also out. Directed by the incredible James Noise this video exudes art-deco and looks like a dream. The transiting neon and pastel blend represent the focus on chaos when we should be enjoying the colour.

Happiness is a heavy weight that sometimes we must rest upon, this song is not only a love story to friendship it is an ode to forgiveness. Forgive yourself, fight for yourself and most importantly love all versions of yourself. Love you when you can’t get out of bed, the version who was recognised by your boss at work, the version that singly loudly and badly in the shower and the one who cry on their weekend away. You have an unknown number of days with yourself in that time allow yourself to fall, to burn bread and then bake more, when you are being kind you are doing enough.

If you or a friend has been affected by mental health below are some useful resources.

https://www.manhealth.org.uk

https://www.samaritans.org

https://www.talktofrank.com/

Ceilings by Lizzie McAlpine

4th Mar 2023 — Leave a comment

Time to grab that flow dress and run into the sunset.

Music Video for Ceilings produced by Gus Black

My mindless scrolling is ceased as this song floods my ears, women running in beautiful dresses, Ceilings reaches its crescendo and my heart holds its breath, a rare feeling that only happens when I am on the precipice of greatness, an outstretched hand reaching out for another, but the distance is just too great, this song is the soundtrack for the tragedy of what if.

From for you to the World, Ceilings by Lizzie McAlpine shot to the first top ten of the official UK singles chart. This is not her first appearance in the charts though with her album Five Seconds flat reach 5th place on Heatseekers Album in 2022. This song has seen her perform on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight show to millions of viewers and a live audience.

This breakthrough single has spotlighted the ethereal, poetic talented that is Lizzie. Her previous work has seen her collab with the likes of John Mayer which landed her, her first Grammy nomination for best instrument, arrangement, and vocals.

Lizzy McAlpine

And what a voice she has as her sound narrates the journey of an idealised relationship. The truth is disappointments don’t matter when you’re in love, the hole in your shoe, the stain on your shirt all muted by their hands on your face, round your waist, the lips your fingers trace. The idyllic, Sunday morning love, the smell of coffee the only disturbance to your union, the only stir to your spoon. The fresh flowers in each room, the smile at the door after a long day sort of love, the love you know is not real, it doesn’t exist.

Love can be this, but it can also be, lost keys on a late morning, dinner gone cold left on the side, smoke from a neglected candle, the singed smell spilling into a bedroom. Spilled paint on the fresh carpet, raised voices and wet necks. Love is passionate, love is pain, the sacrifice we give for it could drive us insane, but when you’re held close, when that toast is buttered by them, cut into a heart, we call the tears love, the sleepless nights, the rough, the joy its a rubix cube puzzle of emotions and I think Ceilings captures the line of what could have been and what actually was. Love is angry, it demands to be felt.

“Touch me like nobody else does
Lovely to just lay here with you
You’re kinda cute and I would say all of this
But I don’t wanna ruin the moment
Lovely to sit between comfort and chaos”

Lizzy McAlpine

Desperation from deprivation, the passing eye of a stranger, an imagined life with them from a glance at their iris, not knowing if it was blue or brown, you know your kids first name and the colour of your front door you’d pick out together. Lovers spilled on pages, stretched on the screen all the skin you touch in between, skin stuck to bedsheets, you’re filled but you’re not complete. The fantasy, to be important enough to be loved especially by a person like you, is an indulgent one, that we sip as our eyes glaze over at work, as we wait for the bus to turn, the rain drops on the window showing us a life we want to live, one where we are loving each other, one where we are the people I see us as.

“But it’s not real
And you don’t exist
And I can’t recall the last time I was kissed”

The songs heart breaking realisation comes in the concluding verse. This heart balloon bursts, recognising the hand you hold is your own, you are sat alone in your car, where are you driving too? not to them, they’re not real, you haven’t met them yet. You’re home, a potential dinner is in the fridge, but you pack yourself away to your unmade bed, why tidy it, why make it special if it’s just for you? The sudden horror as the intrusive thought that perhaps you are decaying, you are not enough to be loved so therefore must make it up. 

Lizzie is already hard at work on her next album which she describes as the “most authentic music [she’s] ever written.

Wakey Wines is in its Prime.

26th Feb 2023 — 1 Comment

What’s the best shop in Wakey?

Whether you’re one of the 700k TikTok followers or a Wakefield local by now you must have heard the iconic Abdul, come closer, Abdul, go back,” and the catchy “Bingo bingo, Gala bingo”. Well now there is even a Wakey Wines song, Come Closer, with its own music video.

Frustratingly the song is quite catchy, one that we’ll no doubt see trend on TikTok for a while.With is simplistic but effective wordplay the song cleverly markets Wakey Wines as the place to be, it is where things happen. Local communities, small towns and villages seemingly have the stigma that not much goes on but Wakey Wines raises a glass against this stereotype, a beacon to everyday people trying to make it.

Prime energy, WFD branded sweets, to it’s own merchandise Wakey Wines has transformed from being a tedious Tuesday lunch time trip to a Friday night hangout spot. You’re not going there for a bag of crips and a pint of milk, you’re going there to experience a slice of fame and full throttle vibrancy. Perhaps this theatrical display, evocative of a victorian market seller, will trend again changing retail once more.

The track has the potential to become this summer’s club banger, a grenade on the dance floor. This truly defines doing it differently, name another shop that has it’s own song. Binley Mega Chippy? That short lived jingle is no competition for this wobbler, right? Or will Wakey fall victim to these TikTok trends, you may burn bright but you burn out quicker.

Although owner Mohammad Azar Nazir may have gone viral for his phrases landing him guest star appearances at various nightclubs across the UK he has been met with criticism after selling the highly coveted prime energy drinks at an extortionate rate, in some cases charging £100, although this has been deemed as a marketing stunt by some.

Partial owner and promoter of the Prime Brand KSI actually responded to Mohammad’s antics yelling that ‘he can’t keep getting away with this’. It is clear that KSI is very passionate about keeping Prime at the agreed price of £2, when supermarket Asda was found to be selling it for £2.50, he called them out on twitter, writing “No, no, no. This is out of order. This isn’t Prime doing this. This is Asda.” subsequently Asda did then drop the price back down.

Mohammed has defended his decision to charge such a rate by arguing that he is just ‘making the best of a business opportunity’.

But the prices don’t seem to be deterring people who have, for the most part, accepted that this is all part of the experience such as Darren Grieves who travelled 130 miles with his three children to spend £66 on four drinks Wakey.

Whether you feel like travelling to Wakey or you’re not even up to walking to your local it is clear that TikTok is changing the face of retail, helping local businesses and giving creators the space to demonstrate their talents.