Hive Aid / Eşya @ The House of Rapture

David Addison once famously posited, do bees bee? I really hope so, and I really hope they keep bee-ing, but the humble Honey Bee, arguably the most industrious and important creature on our planet, is in serious trouble. A combination of habitat loss, pesticide usage and climate change have seen a dramatic drop in numbers of our honey-making chums, something that we should all be concerned about as, without these amazing, pollinating, waggle-dancing insects us humans would be in deep doo-doo.

Thankfully there is still time to help our little buzzing benefactors and, to highlight their importance, the work they do and how we can give them a helping hand, the fine folks at Portsmouth's Staggeringly Good Brewery are hosting a festival this weekend to celebrate all things bee and raise money to support new hives in the area. In addition to beer (obviously) and honey-based food there will also be presentations from bee experts and, yes, live music.

Hive Aid, and yes I see what they did there, starts this Friday, 21st June, with a performance by Eşya, the solo project of Savage's bass player Ayşe Hassan, at The House of Rapture. Eşya's intoxicating blend of delicate, slightly troubling vocals and persistent beats produce songs laden with foreboding.



Support on the night comes from Hyperstition Duo, ex of the late lamented Sheffield band Blood Sport (whose set at Drift a few years back still burns bright in my memory), and London-based trio Mohit.



Entrance to Friday night's gig is £5 (or free if you pre-order Eşya's EP from Pie & Vinyl).

Hive Aid continues across the weekend with live music throughout; unfortunately details of Saturday's line-up are not available at time of writing but Sunday's session is notable for featuring acts from the Ready To Rock School collective; Luca & Madison, Electric Milk, Glass Cage, Charlotte Neal & Markus Smith will all be performing and entry is FREE!

Penelope Isles @ The House of Rapture

Recent Bella Union signings Penelope Isles are set to release their debut long player, Until The Tide Creeps In, on the label this Summer. Ahead of this the Brighton-based quartet of Jack Wolter, Lily Wolter, Becky Redford and Jack Sowton are hitting the road, playing a selection of dates which includes a stop at SXSW and a home-town show for the Wolters on the Isle of Man.



Along the way the band will be making a return visit to Portsmouth, where they played Dials Festival last year, to play a set at the city's newest venue The House of Rapture. Tickets for the Tuesday 2nd April gig, co-promoted by Dials, Strong Island Recordings and Pie & Vinyl, are priced at a very reasonable £6 and available online via Billetto.

Support on the night comes from local acts Barbudo, who recently released their new EP Sunshine, and the lo-fi soul of Ban Summers. The gig poster, below, has been conjured up by Chris Williamson and, disturbingly, reflects how I feel some Saturday mornings. No, really.

Honeyblood - 'The Third Degree'

The return of Honeyblood has been something I've long been looking forward to, the first two albums have both received considerably play at Chez SoMC and, when seen live, the duo of Stina Tweeddale and Cat Myers are a force to be reckoned with. 

New single The Third Degree is a solid, foot-tapping Wall of Sound-influenced tune, a take on not giving your ex the satisfaction of causing a scene when you see them with someone new. This tale of a broken relationship is one that Honeyblood do well, a counterpoint perhaps to some of The Wedding Present's back catalogue of songs that tackle doomed romance.

Something, however, has changed. It's difficult to hear a difference in band dynamic when you hear a song on the radio but, watching the video, there is a noticeable absence in the band's line-up. Yes, moving forward with album number three, Stina has decided to make Honeyblood a solo project, using brought-in musicians to fill out the live sound when touring. This is both a bad (Cat is an excellent drummer, recently stepping into the brink to help Mogwai out) and good (there's always been a feel of a solo act about the project) thing.

On the strength of the single all bodes well for Honeyblood; a UK tour starts in April (including dates at The Joiners on Saturday 11th May & The Boileroom on Thursday 6th June) as well a series of in-stores (which take in both Pie & Vinyl and Resident) ahead of the release of album number three, In Plain Sight, on Friday 24th May.