Black Honey, Sebright Arms, London

Black Honey aren’t on stage yet, but a flamingo is. There is a flamingo on stage – and it somehow promises that tonight won’t be a disappointment.

The band’s presence is immediately captivating with the opening of ‘Spinning Wheel’. Izzy B Phillips’ lingering vocals are ethereal she adopts a doe-eyed trance, only to be shattered with an almighty scream. Momentum gathers with the rumble of the type of 50s-style guitar lines usually found on a Tarantino soundtrack. From here on in Black Honey never lose that spark.

Their set seamlessly interlaces breezy pop with psychedelic rock, and then there’s ‘Sleep Forever’, which shows the band at their most vulnerable. Phillips’ brooding voice evokes Lana Del Rey at her ‘Video Games’ best as wistful riffs add to this cinematic lullaby.

It’s undeniable that Black Honey have a sense of the theatrical. Izzy is captivating to watch – an enigma of poise and mania; she’s part young Debbie Harry, part doe-eyed 1960s starlet.

It’s recent single ‘Corrine’ which triggers the three-man mosh pit to swell into jumping masses, crooning the nostalgic lyrics “come back to me” at the stage. Apparently written for a friend after a fight, it’s no surprise that this song possesses friendship-repairing powers with its elements of scuzzy pop and infectious chorus.

The set draws to a close as a devotee leaps onto the stage, a security guard half-heartedly attempting to reinstate order, surrendering as Izzy dares the crowd “Well go on then!” with a mischievous grin. The music grows with the scale of the stage invasion; ending in a grand finale of heavy, dirty layers of reverb as the four members thrash their instruments. Let’s hope the flamingo survived.