Written & Directed

Black Honey - Written & Directed
Critic Score
Based on 11 reviews
2021 Ratings: #424 / 753
User Score
Based on 155 ratings
2021 Rank: #777
Liked by 11 people
March 19, 2021 / Release Date
LP / Format
Foxfive / Label
Indie Rock / Genre
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Gigwise

Raucous and unflinching, the ten tracks are a visionary confessional for the riot of 2021, capturing in space and time an industry and a world that rests its laurels on out-dated patriarchy, and planting the flag for fierce, strong women everywhere.

80
NME

‘Written And Directed’ is a thrilling step up from a band quietly coming into their own.

80
DIY

‘Written & Directed’ sees the quartet evolving into the rock outfit they’d always threatened to be.

80
Dork

With horns and choirs one moment, colliding with crunching guitars in the next, it’s the sound of a band that have pulled no punches, not compromising their vision in the slightest and yet still seems even more sharply focussed than their debut.

80
Upset

Inspired by grindhouse cinema, female cinematic representation and kitschy pulp films, 'Written & Directed' is a bonafide soundtrack dedicated to empowerment and Black Honey's pop culture heroes - continuing to prove themselves and push boundaries.

80
The Forty-Five

By the end of the album, the biggest takeaway from ‘Written & Directed’ is of a band able to splash a hell of a lot of colour onto their canvas.

70
Classic Rock

Their sugar-coated badass swagger might be toothless and adolescent, but sometimes teenage dreams are hard to beat.

60
musicOMH

Black Honey open up a world of nostalgia that combines exotic elements of cult cinema with the novelty of America’s wild west, and deliver something bespoke in the process.

60
The Guardian

If at times it can all sound a bit forced – Disinfect in particular is all bluster and no purpose – they get it right more than they do wrong.

60
The Arts Desk

Unlike contemporaries such as Wolf Alice and Pumerosa, Black Honey dump subtlety in favour of sheer rockin' wattage. And it works!

YuriDING
60

It's a fun record. He does not intend and does not want to be taken seriously, and he does his job well.
It is a pleasant record, and it seems to me that it fits very well to play on a sunny afternoon while washing the car.

The songs make a very crazy mix of Surf Music, grunge, some passages that refer to psychedelic rock, industrial, and even coutry at times.
Obviously not all of these genres are present 100% of the time, which we have are many influences that contribute to building a unique ... read more

BaddieBaphomet
40

I’ve never heard Black Honey before, but my period out was peaked when I saw their vintage, 70’s movie inspired album art. While their marketing clearly worked, I came into an album cold based off aesthetic choices alone, “Written & Directed” was not the fun action movie this album promised and is arguably one of the least memorable albums of the year so far.

I’ve used a term before in a previous review - “Kohl’s Leather Jacket Rock” - that ... read more

RichardsH
63

It’s clear we aren’t supposed to take this seriously at all, but there are some songs on here that kinda slap

kaimasonnn
65

some hits, some misses

RichardsH
63

It’s clear we aren’t supposed to take this seriously at all, but there are some songs on here that kinda slap

Freddyarcade
100

...

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Track List

1I Like the Way You Die
3:08
90
2Run for Cover
2:57
100
3Beaches
3:00
85
4Back of the Bar
2:35
80
5Believer
2:56
85
6I Do It to Myself
3:36
80
7Disinfect
2:49
90
8Summer ‘92
3:32
85
9Fire
3:17
85
10Gabrielle
2:37
75
Total Length: 30 minutes

Year End Lists

#39/The Forty-Five
#94/Piccadilly Records
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Added on: October 7, 2020