Band: Honey Gun
Honey Gun’s latest release on Pilot Records is a precise take on Middle American nu-metal. How did a contingent of disaffected suburban rock fans somehow crop up in the heart of the Chinese capital? Some bands believe influences are to be subtly integrated and some feel they are to be mastered and displayed triumphantly. Honey Gun sides with the latter. Crunchy guitar riffs and a bouncy drum grooves quickly lead the opening track, “240 km/h,” to a climactic chorus at exactly the one minute mark, then smoothly transitions into the nostalgic bridge, complete with earnest, heartbroken vocals, into the obligatory scorching guitar riff, neatly reeled back with a double kick drum solo, back again into the radio-friendly repeat of the chorus, and...out. The band repeats this formula for the remaining nine tracks. At some points, the vocals imply a greater sensitivity while the instrumentation and production also suggest fluctuation in influence. But as mellow as it gets, the heavy riffs are never too far behind, quickly reminding us there is most certainly a gun hiding in this honey.

Damon McMahon