Torquay four-piece Savage Honey have spent their formative years bottling the raw, sun-baked energy of Victoria’s Surf Coast. Comprising Dominic Paver, Jacob Hunniford, Joshua Young, and Jay Rose-ham, the indie-rock outfit have steadily sharpened a sound that anchors big, anthemic choruses to classic rock foundations. Having already shared festival stages at Party In The Paddock and Here Comes The Sun, the band have proved they can dominate a crowd; now, they are ready to unveil their debut studio album, 'Darling'.
With producer Aaron Dobos guiding the record through the turbulent emotional landscape of early adulthood, and featuring musical contributions from Savannah Higgs, Alex Mathieson, and Sunny Thapa, 'Darling' balances stadium-sized ambitions with raw, diary-entry vulnerability.
The journey opens with the heavy, 70s-tinted weight of 'Free Your Mind'. The band explain that the track "showcases Savage Honey's heavier side while telling the story of a vagabond's struggles to accept that the person he loves had a life prior to him. It touches on the human condition in relation to overcoming negative emotions such as jealousy." This lead-in yields to the expansive, creative appreciation of 'Long Time Coming', "a song about expressing love through creativity and art", which channels the atmospheric spaciousness of Neil Young and Pink Floyd.
Personal histories form the emotional core of the record. 'Moonlove' is introduced as "a love song written by our rhythm guitarist Dom about the original drummer of Savage Honey during the early stages of their relationship and the beginnings of the band." Conversely, 'The Patron Saint of Helpless Cases' shifts into darker territory. "Lyrically, it follows a protagonist who recognises that he’s a benchmark for helplessness. Driven by ego and by hedonism, he finds himself in suffering and in pain. Musically and stylistically, it follows a 6/8 time signature, which we love to play in, and journeys from a tight and organised arrangement to a more chaotic and frantic crescendo; this journey parallels the inevitable unravelling of the story line."
The album's B-side strikes a brilliant equilibrium between high-energy festival anthems and stark intimacy. 'Summer Solstice' is "an anthem made for festivals that rings true to the working-class culture of Australia, designed to pull crowds together." From there, 'Bedsheets' shifts the mood into an adaptable groove, arriving as "a brilliant expression of the range of sound Savage Honey has to offer." The record culminates in the deeply personal tribute 'Video Games', written following a cancer diagnosis for Dom's mother, which beautifully "touches on living away from your loved ones and the emotional struggles that come with feeling unable to help."
'Darling' is available to stream now on all major platforms. To catch their explosive live set on the road, follow Savage Honey on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to catch their upcoming tour dates.
