IT'S only early days in the career of Honey Hills, but signs are certainly bright for the Newcastle indie four-piece.
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First single Daisy was released last year and has almost cracked 11,000 streams on Spotify and on Monday Honey Hills dripped out their second taste in the anthemic Strange.
Both songs will appear on the band's debut five-track EP For What It's Worth out on March 25.
"We're trying to keep it going and push what we're doing, so we don't stop the roll with feel we're on," said Honey Hills frontman and rhythm guitarist Austin Mackay.
Honey Hills - alongside Rum Jungle, Cooks & Bakers and Mango Avenue - are part of a new wave of bands emerging in Newcastle, who are heavily influenced by Sydney act Ocean Alley.
The modern indie rock infused with funk, reggae and blues seems perfectly suited to Newcastle's laid-back surf culture.
"It's a thriving scene, which is good," Mackay said. "Especially for the new bands, there's a lot of support from existing bands in the scene. They just want to give us support slots or back us."
Honey Hills played their first show last June after Mackay teamed up with St Francis Xavier school mates Cooper Rigby (bass) and Beau Dalton (drums) and lead guitarist James Snitch.
Mackay and Rigby were also members of high school band Maple Syrup, which last year won a competition to support KISS and Screaming Jets at the Newcastle Supercars concert. While the gig was cancelled due to KISS frontman Paul Stanley's illness, Maple Syrup still performed on the track prior to the race.
Since graduating from high school Mackay has thrown himself head first into music. Besides writing Honey Hills' debut EP, he's also in the middle of recording a debut solo album due for release in June.
Honey Hills will launch For What It's Worth at the Newcastle Hotel on March 27.
WINTER SURFSHIRT
AFTER a quiet 2019, the Bar On The Hill continues to beef up it's gig schedule after Winston Surfshirt announced a June 12 show. It follows shows from The Amity Affliction and upcoming gigs from The Rubens (June 5) and 5 Seconds Of Summer (December 2). Winston Surfshirt released their last album Apple Crumble in November.
PARTY TIME
IF you're gonna miss Wine Machine at Roche Estate on Saturday, fear not, one of the festival's hottest acts is returning to the Hunter later this year. Melbourne electro six-piece Northeast Party House are playing the Cambridge Hotel on August 20.
