Originally submitted for The West Australian Revue. More notes below. Photographs courtesy © Michael Wylie © Nat Brunovs.
No Flowers No Wedding Dress; Honeycomb
Lone Star
December 1, 1995
It didn't take too long for Honeycomb to fill the space, unoccupied by people, with some excellent noise which would have fit in anywhere between the Sandringham in Sydney's inner city to the Swanbourne here in Perth.
Their songs, crafted with many of their simple grunge melodies still in my head, came across as thoughtful and really strong. With bass player Rob Angus' throaty "yeah" giving their songs a rough edge I can't help but mention Sydney's The Verys as songsmithery compatriots.
No Flowers No Wedding Dress have been pretty quiet on the main gig circuit for a while now but there is no doubt they still have a lot to offer this city.
Lead boy Shaun Corlson now resembles, both in stage demeanour and musical approach, a veritable Grant McLennan. Everyone has their own opinion on Mr McLennan, from Sydney's Smudge (Don't Want to Be Grant McLennan) to his multitude of somewhat stargazing fans, but the uniting factor is their approach to getting the lyrics across with ebbing, simple pop theatrics. It's always the lyrics at the forefront.
With a largely new set of songs which shall soon appear on a new NFNWD album, their use of sound and silence was curiously refreshing and full of emotive detail.
The Lone Star may not have the right appeal for a NFNWD event, but they are certain to warm any smaller, cosier venue that may come their way.
Adam Connors
The West Australian is W.A.'s state newspaper. The versions appearing here are the unedited versions which were subsequently edited for space, clarity and reality for publication by editors Sue Yeap and Ara Jansen. Italicised comments in the body of the reviews/interviews - if present - are the notes I sent to the editors to clarify certain situations such as missed deadlines, personal disasters or simple non sequitur, which always makes for good reading.
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