Honningbarna – Excellent Cello Punk at by:Larm

The front guy of the Norwegian band Honningbarna, Edvard Valberg, looks like a young man who does what his parents tell him, and dutifully goes to cello practice every week. But appearances can deceive, on stage he is like a firework of punky energy, treating his cello like a punching ball while the other band members jump around on stage. As a band, Honningbarna is one of the live bands that gives the most value for the money these days.

Last year Honningbarna’s drummer Anders Eikås died in a tragic car accident, and there was a lot of speculation to what would happen with the band. They decided to continue and to honor their dead friend that way. Their showcase at by:Larm yesterday was my first since 2011, and they have really evolved in their live show, without losing their punk attitude.

When punk came in 1976, I was a music student, and looked down on the punk musicians who couldn’t play their instruments particularly well. But I came to like the energy of the music and when the new wave bands like Clash, Jam and Police came in 1978-1979, I became a fan of their music, which was a mix between punk energy, some good song writing and more than competent instrumental skills.

Honningbarna is a band that combines these things in a good way. They have a punk attitude, but they are a vey tight band with effective songs performed with close attention to the important details that makes the difference between a good and a mediocre band. I always feel refreshed when I see a Honningbarna show, and I am happy that they carry on the tradition from the quality punk through the 80 and 90’s Norwegian bands Kjøtt, Dum Dum Boys, Raga Rockers and Jokke of Valentinerne.

Honningbarna will release their second full album, Verden er enkel (The World is Simple) on March 1st, and you can preview it on iTunes already. They have also released the first single from the album, Fuck kunst (dans dans), plus a video of this that can be viewed on their website.