Oliver: Drunk Tank - Honeysuckle (22 February 1992)

I had a question mark against this track when I heard it on the 22/2/92 show.  The question mark stayed there for a few more listens to be honest, but what guaranteed its inclusion was that it sounded like something else.  Imitation can be the sincerest form of flattery and a means of acceptance towards those who may have been tempted to go, "Jesus, John, what is this clattery ould racket?"  I'm writing this in Ireland so may be prone to colloquisms.

Is the riff to Honeysuckle what critics used to call Motorik?  I'm not so sure.  It borrows from the "riding to hounds" riff of Unsane's Cracked Up mixed together with the congested vocal scream of Beeswax era, Nirvana.  Those vocals also hark forward to the strangled yelp of Clinic, who are bound to find a place on this blog in the decades to come.  And while we're looking forward, I find myself reflecting on that music business trope which declares that the more ferocious the performance, the more inappropriate the title of the piece will be.

Strictly speaking this should be held over till the very end of this blog, assuming I live to that age, as I heard it on the first Peel show that I recorded after his death, under Rob da Bank's auspices.  He didn't back announce it, but happily that anarchy was knocked out of him pretty damned sharpish.



Videos courtesy of Irresponableful (Drunk Tank) and Sniperskull1031 (Bury Your Dead).