When the rain’s pinging off the windows outside and people are ducking and diving for taxis, there’s no greater place than the cosiness Hyde Park Book Club. And the zesty indie-pop from South African-hailing HONEYMOAN* was exactly what the doctor ordered in that moment. 

The band’s sunshiny sound has all the upbeat brilliance that 2010’s indie genre delivered but the modern electronics give it that present-day edge. What HONEYMOAN bring in the flesh is not only a humble stage presence, but an injection of extra instrumental oomph. At HPBC, this came in the form of solo artist Manu Grace (also a performer at Live At Leeds: In The City last month), who had opened for the band then jumped on guitar and keys for them. It was a delightfully executed curation — punctuated by some searing guitar solos — which deserved a far bigger crowd than the rainy Saturday night drew in.

Naturally, as the track that’s so far garnered more than three million streams on Spotify, ‘Low Blow’ packed an expected punch. Meanwhile ‘Gym Song’ and their first ever release, ‘We’, were insatiably charismatic, too. 

HONEYMOAN’s latest drop, ‘Shortcuts’, was a tune I was sent recently and only too pleased to shout about at Record Weekly. It’s perhaps not quite as catchy per se as some of their other offerings, but it’s a certified earworm nonetheless. And as the gig went on, we were assured of even meatier things coming soon; ‘Sorry Like You Mean It’ was a real shredder — especially in the chorus — and those heftier chords were very welcomed by the bodies in the room. The band divulged that it’s their aim to get that particular piece out around January, so consider me poised and very eagerly awaiting that one. 

It was a show whereby the popularity of their songs on their streaming platforms didn’t equate to the turnout they should’ve had from Leeds’ indie consortium. But everyone there received HONEYMOAN’s delicious bops with wide-open ears. 

*With thanks to Zeitgeist Agency for the press invite