HONK release their second ‘trash can country’ EP ‘Closing Down Sale’
The band return with a new EP.
Photo: Ethan Griffin-Mccleary
Hailing from the restless city of Manchester, HONK have been hammering together their own Frankenstein genre since 2022, combining the steel of punk with the dusty wood of country twang, tying it all together with a healthy dose of garage-rock. They call it ‘trash can country’, a sound that stomps like a saloon brawl one moment and incites whiplash-worthy headbanging the next. Their new EP, Closing Down Sale, plays like a musical thrift shop where every track is pulled from a different shelf, yet is somehow stitched into a cohesive, raucous patchwork of chaos.
The curtain rises with Low Life Trash, a groovy ode to self-deprecation that tiptoes in on banjo sounds before exploding into a punk-rock sprint. It’s like watching a cowboy enter a dive bar, remove his hat and dive headfirst into a moshpit.
From there, the chaos escalates with Duck Duck Goose. This track erupts into a punk-country frenzy, barrelling forward like a runaway train that’s somehow learned how to headbang.
Just when you think you’ve got a grip on the ride, HONK veer into Vine Glo, with its insane riffs and rebellious bite; it’s a nose-bleeder, a fist-raiser, and proof that HONK can craft hooks as sharp as their garage-rock grit.
The mood pivots again with Last Order, a track drenched in seventies country charm. Imagine a country honky-tonk at closing time, the jukebox still spinning as couples stomp out one last dance. It’s playful, nostalgic and proof that HONK aren’t afraid to show their softer, twangier side.
Then comes Cock of the Walk, definitely the EP’s strut of pride. Psychedelic-punk rhythms lie beneath vocals that sound like they’ve been siphoned straight from the underground scenes of the seventies. It’s brash and tailor-made to make you feel ten feet tall as you stomp along to the track.
Closing the EP is Range Rover, a track that gallops out of the gate. Packed with country twang, energetic rhythms, and vocals that beg for a rowdy singalong, it’s a barnburner of a finale, like a line-dancing party crashing into a punk gig and refusing to leave until the last string has been strummed.
Where their debut Grand Opening gave so much potential, Closing Down Sale cements HONK’s vision — which is messy, bold, and ever so unpredictable. In a landscape where so many genre-blurring bands still opt for colouring inside the lines, HONK are tearing the page in half, scrawling across the margins, and proving that sometimes the best music comes from the clash of worlds that would typically never meet.
Closing Down Sale is out now via Shooting Tzars Records.