First Impressions: Real Deal by Honeyglaze

There are albums upcoming that I should be focused on. There always are, of course. Yet late last night and again this morning, I found myself instead listening to this sophomore set from the South London trio as well as their self-titled debut, which was released in 2022. Their song “Ghost” walked through the walls of Apple Music’s New Music Mix yesterday morning, just as the first of several tornado warnings blared from my phone. It’s moody and restrained, rising and receding time after time while the lyrics unreel the unseen realities surrounding us: “I am here and nowhere/I am always in between/I’m not being literal/But you know what I mean.”

Honeyglaze consists of Anouska Sokolow on lead vocals and guitar, Tim Curtis on bass, and Yuri Shibuichi on drums. Sokolow is a former art student; one of her works can be seen on this Camberwell College of Arts-related Instagram page. If you clicked through, you’ll see that it’s of a papier-mâché boxing boot—a motif that Real Deal revisits via its title, which was inspired by a poster of boxing great Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield, and cover art.

The album plays out much like a boxing match, in a sense. The opening “Hide” features a few jabs and much stalking about the ring. “Cold Caller” continues the tempo, with Sokolow recounting how tele-scammers help her deal with loneliness. “Pretty Girls” ups the pace; it dishes body blows amidst the jabs while reflecting on so-called beautiful people and self-control. “Safety Pins,” for its part, follows with a flurry of willful self-deception while “Don’t” features spoken-word bits punctuated by a series of uppercuts and right hooks that leaves the other party slumped in a corner and praying for the bell to ring.

The opponent seemingly mounts a comeback in “TMJ,” tossing a succession of haymakers—“I’ll give you nothing/Or I’ll give you my all/But I’m scared of closeness/Of asking for more”—and landing a succession of skull-crushing punches that lead to a standing 10-count: “I’m clenching my jaw/Because I don’t trust myself/I’m clenching my jaw/Because I don’t trust anyone anymore.” Sokolow’s opponent, of course, isn’t another—it’s herself. 

“I Feel It All” starts as a typical middle round, when the tired fighters have become afraid of being knocked out. By song’s end, however, Sokolow unleashes a flurry that sets up a clean uppercut that again staggers the other: “Ghost.”

“TV,” which follows, features the body blows of self-recognition, self-distraction and false ideals. The title track, on the other hand, mounts a counterattack, recognizing the importance of believing in one’s self. “Movies,” for its part, ends the match in the 11th round with a self-administered TKO; it digs deep into escapism and how “all these pieces of me are just pieces of somebody else/and I piece together all these pieces to create myself.” 

As a whole, the album is part arty, part spoken word, and part rock. I compared it to Horsegirl’s Versions of Modern Performance yesterday but, where that album leans on quirky discord and abstract expressionism, Real Deal is more akin to a sonic sculpture accented by detail, slashing guitars and killer rhythms. It’s a mesmerizing listen.