Honeyblood, Art School, Glasgow

★★★★

Honeyblood are moving in some high circles these days. Fresh from a support slot with the Foo Fighters, they’ve just been announced for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, but lofty gigs thankfully haven’t smoothed over the duo’s appeal too much.

That means they are the sort of act who can stop a gig temporarily so that singer Stina Tweeddale can announce that it’s drummer Cat Myers one year anniversary with the band and present her with a gift of unicorn socks, which the stickswoman promptly put on. A later interruption that saw a chap hauled out the crowd to play tin whistle on one tune didn’t work as well, slowing the momentum and increasing the crowd chatter into a mild mid-set lull, but it’s rewarding to see a band adjusting to bigger venues without becoming too polished.

Musically, however, they were well honed indeed. Myers may have only been in the group 12 months, but she and Tweeddale have a natural rapport. Material from last year’s debut album carried a confident sharpness, and while there has always been a  bruising nature to their scuzzy pop tunes, a couple of new tracks were more pounding than ever. Both Love Is A Disease and Babes Never Die seemed determined to up the noise levels further than before, and succeeded satisfyingly.

Whether that is setting a template for next year’s sophomore record remains to be seen, but they are an act adept at both sweet and sour, from Bud’s pop coating and the woozy melody of (I’d Rather Be) Anywhere But Here to the visceral anger that turned Choker and Super Rat into cathartic anthems. The venues change, but the music still lands a gut punch.