Started by brothers Eddy and Joe Widdows when they were still in primary school, the music of the garage punk Brighton band Honeybadger has remained surprisingly consistent from its inception, over a decade ago.

“Before Luca joined, it was a lot of two-piece stuff,” Eddy tells Post-Burnout. Stuff that we could…” “White Stripes stuff,” adds Joe. “Yeah, White Stripes influence,” Eddy continues. “Royal Blood. It was around that time. Slaves. Soft Play, now.” “Was it JEFF the Brotherhood? Are they a two-piece, as well?” asks Joe. “Yeah, yeah,” responds Eddy.

So, with Eddy on guitar and vocals and Joe on drums, the two began playing gigs at school. While they got traction as two-piece, they felt something was missing on their low-end, so expanding the project seemed like the right move, and, thankfully, they had a fan who was more than willing to join.

 “It started in school, with battle of the bands and spring concerts and whatever. I was in another band at the time, but I wanted to be in Honeybadger because they were making cooler music,” says Luca Brett-Smith. “I still rate the guys in my old band. We made some cool tunes but I saw the potential early. But I was just really pleased when Joe approached me. We didn’t really know each other at that point, but he just asked me because I think I was the only bassist in our year, really. [Laughs] Like, one in the entire school.

“So, I was just like, ‘Yeah.’  It started off as a second priority and quickly became my top concern, really. I was just really honoured to have been asked and really happy to provide that low-end and that room for Eddy to do a bit more, as well. I think his songwriting has come on in leagues and leagues since then, and it was already really fuckin’ good. So, I was just well gassed, to be honest.”

When we asked the others how the addition of bass changed their sound, Eddy responded, “Just that extra layer of meat! A bit of extra power behind the sound. Obviously, I was learning guitar at the time, and I was just getting into soloing and stuff and getting all up my own arse about that, so Luca helped provide that extra layer so I could sit on top of that.”

“He’s a quality balance on the scales, as well, to be fair, because, when it was just me and Eddy, the arguments could be a little bit hairy, as well,” adds Joe. “So, it’s good to have a…” “A mediator?” asks Luca. “Yeah!” laughs Joe.

Now, as adults in a band that has been going since Joe was ten and Eddy was seven, we asked how they feel their music has changed during the project’s lifetime. “We’ve always been heavily inspired by loud or powerful music [with] not too much production shine on it and just raw stuff, and that’s not really gone away,” replies Eddy.

“Just new bands who have taken on that sound. [We’ve] just been listening to more and more of that. The songwriting’s changed quite a bit from the older stuff. We have been listening to a bit more songwriter-y type things. Just more nice, pretty songs than the smash-‘n’-go of the garage.”

“I mean that’s kind of the Queens of the Stone Age [influence],” adds Joe. “We’ve always been into them, but I think, especially in the last couple of years, me and Eddy have really got into them and appreciated their songwriting genius, to be honest. Because they do the really heavy, hard shit and then they can also do the really pretty melodies, as well.”

Luca feels that his tastes have evolved as a result of joining Honeybadger. “I started off very much like the lads; I was always into my rock and it was the only thing I listened to, and I think, as time went on, I developed more of an appreciation for hip-hop, and reggae, and lots of different types of dance music, as well,” he says.

“I think a broader range of inspiration can help create that interesting, unique sound. When you can really assess every option available and maybe the different genre norms, you can find the one that suits the song the best. I say that music taste has definitely developed since I’ve been with Honeybadger.”

Since 2020, the band have been constantly recording, gigging, and releasing. To date, the band have released twelve singles over the span of four years. On August 16^th, they released their latest track to date, “Maybe I.”

When we spoke with the band about a week after its release, they were buzzing, as the song had just hit one of Spotify’s editorial playlists, making it the first of their tracks to do so. “We’re fuckin’ buzzed about that,” said Luca at the time. “We’ve been trying for a while. I thought it would happen with this track if any, because it’s just fuckin’ great.”

Expanding on that, Luca says, “One of the core tenets for me, when writing a bassline, in general, is not to be too fancy, and that’s not to say that I won’t add decoration or make it interesting, but you can make as fancy a lick as you want; if it doesn’t sound good, if it doesn’t make you feel something, it’s not going to do anything.

“That was just jammed out. It’s a two-chord song. It started with just two chords, and it really just built up from there, in terms of vibes, with Joe just hammering out some insane drum fills on it, and just taking it from there.” “Keyboard. I’ve got a keyboard part on it,” adds Joe.

“You can’t forget that. One note on the keyboard, through the chorus!” “I feel like it’s simple, yet it’s not,” continues Luca. “Everybody’s doing really crazy things on their instruments, yet the bass is so simple, but, emotionally, it just gets you going. I’ve always really believed in that track.”

The song is to be featured on an upcoming EP. “We haven’t got a specific date for it, but I think we were thinking October/November time because we do have quite a few dates stacked up for shows about, and it will line up quite nicely with that if we put it out around then,” Eddy says. “So, that’s the plan, right now. But there is a question of ‘Before or after Christmas?’, but I think we’re going to get it out.” “The world needs to hear it!” adds Luca.

Honeybadger’s latest single, “Maybe I,” is out now and available on all streaming platforms. You can keep up with the band’s music, live dates, social media accounts and more on their Linktree.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.