8/10

When Scottish duo Honeyblood released their self-titled debut album back in 2014, the pair were met with an almost instantaneous cult fanbase, which has gone a long way in forming the sound of their follow-up. While the debut was a tenacious hallmark of the British rock scene, what we are hearing on this new release is a more well-formed band, who have aimed to create a record with a greater level of cohesion than its predecessor.

When you first switch on to 'Babes Never Die', you are met with the album's title-track and 'Ready For The Magic', two songs that best display the group's new found energy. While the former occupies their surf-rock inspirations, the latter is the ball-blistering tenacity that will send fans at live shows into a frenzy. This certainly sounds like a record that needs to be played live to really feel its full power, and therefore seems like they have made this album more for their fans than themselves.

While it still has a lot in common with their debut, 'Babes Never Die' is definitely the kind of second album all bands should be looking to make. It keeps to an incredibly high-speed pace and makes for an enjoyable listen throughout.