Simon RushworthDirty Honey — Mayhem & Revelry Live (Dirt Records)
When it comes to the sweet sound of sleaze-soaked Californian rock and roll, Dirty Honey are the bees’ knees.
Almost from day one there’s been a buzz about Marc Labelle and his throwback buddies.
And they’ve developed a happy knack for backing up the hype with a series of blistering live shows.
It’s rare for a ‘new’ band — the Honey have only been together since 2017 — to release a live set so soon.
In fact, two albums into their fledgling career and you’d imagine the LA quartet barely has a back catalogue big enough to go this big.
But it doesn’t feel like Mayhem & Revelry Live has dropped too early for Dirty Honey.
And such is the demand for the band’s Guns N Roses-meets-Aerosmith swagger that this 16-song statement of intent’s sure to fly off the shelves.
Labelle shifts seamlessly from Axl Rose to Steven Tyler and Robert Plant.
It’s like he’s consumed a strict diet of ‘charismatic frontman candy’ since the age of 12 and become a living, breathing body of classic rock’s very best work.
Flanked by swish six-stringer John Notto — is there nothing this bona fide guitar hero can’t do — Labelle is allowed to flourish.
And Dirty Honey’s dynamic dup ooze brazen optimism at a time when so many have been quick to sound the death knell for raucous rock and roll.
Mayhem & Revelry Live is, to all intents and purposes, telling it like it is.
This album’s the sound of crazy vibes and partying hard… every single night.
Dirty Honey dazzle on live debut
The decision to split their live debut into two halves serves Dirty Honey well.
It’s a well thought out recipe for success that proves the band’s ubiquitous appeal on both sides of the Pond.
‘Side One’ (tracks one thru eight) is a snapshot of Labelle and co. cozying up to North American audiences.
And ‘Side Two’ sees the band swap continents to dazzle crowds across Europe and the UK.
There’s little discernible difference between a Dirty Honey show Stateside and a gig on the other side of the world.
In fact, consistency is key to Mayhem & Revelry — the four-piece’s attention to detail and intense focus perhaps belying the rather wild title of their live debut.
Coming Home could be Plant and Page at their 70s peak.
Another Last Time recalls The Black Crowes bursting on to the late 80s scene and putting on the afterburners.
And Can’t Find The Brakes is a fast-paced Sunset Strip-soaked slice of Love/Hate-meets-Faster Pussycat sleaze par excellence.
Dirty Honey really can do it all. And in the live arena is where they clearly do it best.
Notto’s grab for glory on the blazing intro to When I’m Gone is gobsmackingly good.
And this brilliant band’s long-term success will ultimately depend on how long the flash fret burner and Magic Marc remain on the same page.
Here’s hoping for many more decades of Mayhem & Revelry….
