Black Honey have announced their fourth album Soak, arriving 15th August, and shared its lead single ‘Dead’ – a snarling, acid-laced anthem that pulls no punches.
The track marks a shift in tone for the band, with frontwoman Izzy B. Phillips channels dissociation and defiance into a chorus that dares you to look away. “And you couldn’t decide to stab my back or my eyes / Oh no, I know what you like / Just press on the knife,” she sings, delivering lines that bite as much as they reflect.
‘Dead’ follows recent single ‘Psycho’, a distorted pop-rock cut accompanied by a dystopian video in which Phillips is trapped in a digital reality simulator, one that may hit a little too close to home. These tracks set the tone for Soak, which the band describe as their most visually and thematically ambitious work to date.
After drawing inspiration from Tarantino (Written & Directed) and Wes Anderson (A Fistful of Peaches), Black Honey now turn to Kubrick for their next act. Retro-futuristic imagery and cold, uncanny geometry form the backdrop for what Phillips calls a record of “messy, romantic, confusing, woozy, beautiful and fucked up things.”
“Soak is me processing a decade of touring and creating music and art as an addict,” she explains. “Who I thought I was, who I was supposed to be and who looks back at me now are all so different but I’m kind of here for it.”
Now two years sober and working as a tattoo artist alongside her music, Phillips brings a sharpened clarity to Soak, trading polish for emotional weight.
The band are marking the announcement with a run of intimate underplay shows in Manchester, Brighton and London this week. With previous albums landing at #7 and #6 on the UK charts, Soak sees the Brighton four-piece continuing to evolve on their own terms.
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- Black Honey
- Brighton Pattern
- Dead
- Fistful of Peaches
- Independent Bands
- Izzy B. Phillips
- Manchester Night & Day
- New Album 2025
- Omeara London
- Soak
- UK Rock
- Written & Directed
