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One to Watch: Honeyblood

Lorna Irvine speaks with half of the rising band.

Fuzzy, fizzy indie pop duo Honeyblood, who are based in Glasgow, are definitely my kinda gals- into noisy guitars, booze, cats and mischievous humour. Their moniker suits the music- both loud and sweet. They sometimes sound like the Shangri-Las smacking The Jesus and Mary Chain round the kisser.

Comprising singer/guitarist Stina Tweeddale and drummer Shona McVicar, they signed to Brighton label Fat Cat Records this year, have released one of the year's greatest singles, Bud, wowed the festival audiences up and down the country in the summer and played the Pleasance Sessions with other hot new talent. I caught up with Stina mid- tour for some general enquiries.

Lorna: There are a lot of great duos at the moment making music (Beach House, MGMT, Summer Camp etc). Why do you think that is?

Stina: For us, it was never done by choice. I'd love to have a band with 6+ members all doing intricate harmonies...but when we started Honeyblood, there wasn't anyone who would fit what we wanted, so we just did it ourselves. And it's kind of stuck. I worked out bits I could do without the gap of a bassist, and Shona just plays her kick drum a lot. It makes touring a lot easier. We can fit all of our gear in the back of a car! However, if the right people came along, Honeyblood could have some additional members someday.

Lorna: Your song Killer Bangs is a paean to the fringe, inspired by London hipsters. Who is a stylish musician/band at the moment?

Stina: We had Courtney Barnett play with us at our single launch in London. She's effortlessly cool. Also, we played with Wolf Alice in Guildford last week. They are pretty suave too.

Lorna: You played lots of festivals this year- what was your favourite one?

Stina: Probably T in the Park, just because it's a big deal for Scottish bands. It was such a nice sunny day and everyone was buzzing.

Lorna: You recently supported Giant Drag in Glasgow. How was that? Is Annie as eccentric as everyone says?

Stina: I'm a massive Giant Drag fanboy. I love Annie Hardy, so I was pretty gushy to play that show. She's great, still has her quick wit and great songs.

Lorna: What is the most bizarre piece of press you have read about yourselves?

Stina: Ha, nothing too bad, I think...We were vegan lesbians in one article. So, just to clarify that...we eat burgers and kiss boys.

Tags: music

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