SPLIT DOGS KEEP THEIR FOOT ON THE GAS WITH NEW ALBUM NICE N' ROUGH

ALBUM REVIEW | SPLIT DOGS – NICE N’ ROUGH By Craig Harston

Since forming in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns, SPLIT DOGS really have gone from strength to strength. Setting out in those early days with an ethos of “Let’s just fucking go for it as much as we can”, the Bristol-based foursome have perfectly blended garage punk with classic rock in the subsequent years across their first two albums. 2023’s self-titled debut and 2025’s Here To Destroy are both absolute bangers in their own right, and less than two years after Here To Destroy dropped, SPLIT DOGS are back with their third album, and this time, they’re playing it Nice N’ Rough!

Essentially picking up where Here To Destroy left off, SPLIT DOGS demonstrate that they’re more confident in their musical prowess than ever before on Nice ‘N Rough. Comprising thirteen tracks of pure unadulterated punk n’ roll, plenty of old-school, spiky riffs, face-melting guitar solo’s and brutal bridges are deployed in full force, all headed by front-person Harry Martinez’s now signature snarling vocals.

‘Born Too Loose’ is a prime example of what SPLIT DOGS are all about. The song kicks off with some dirty-ish guitars before the fast and heavy riff kicks in for the duration of the rest of the song, alongside vocals that find Harry reflecting on how they were born to dance: “You know what I was born to do, I was born too loose”, making it a great companion piece to Here To Destroy track ‘Lafayette’.

‘Get The Look’ is a relentless takedown on how people have to always be keeping up with the latest trends, with a garage punk feel to it, plenty of bass and some great hooks as it heads towards its stop-start bridge – plus those screams from Harry really are out of this world! Most recent single ‘Shake Sum Action’ retains the garage punk energy, itself a song that speeds along at breakneck speed with the oft-repeated “I can’t control these shakes”, going big on the choruses with the whole song building to a crescendo at its close.

Those looking for some straight up rock songs need look no further than the album opener ‘Be Somebody’, which is a fantastic kick-off to Nice N’ Rough. Then there’s the later album track ‘Dirty Denim’ which keeps the momentum with its abrasive guitars, superb guitar solo from Mil Martinez (to be fair, there’s a heck of a lot of great guitar solos throughout the whole album), and its lyrics about moving on after experiencing a difficult life lesson: “Alive again, take all the strain, you can feel the pain”.

‘Suffer’ is another relentless effort from the band, beginning with some light percussion and guitar before the main riff kicks in, the whole thing chugging along at a fair clip with (another) fantastic guitar solo just after the second verse. Meanwhile, ‘I Wanna’ has a punky, spiky feel to it with a fantastic bass line throughout, and Harry really demonstrating their immense vocal range with a handful of high notes!

Elsewhere, there’s plenty of big rock energy to be found on ‘Mamma Said’, and ‘Breaker’ is a superfast punk rock banger that clocks in at a svelte 92 seconds. Meanwhile, ‘Speed Demon’ perfectly encapsulates that old school rock feel, combining a great guitar riff with plenty of mouth organ, and would honestly sound great as a background track to a bar fight in a movie – Hollywood should come calling!

Whilst there are no dud tracks on Nice N’ Rough, the easy highlight here is ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Business’, coming in at around the halfway mark on the album. A perfect distillation of 1950’s Chuck Berry style rock ‘n’ roll and AC/DC level hard rock, that also manages to be a brutal takedown of the music industry. Between the fantastic guitar work, excellent drumming, the inclusion of some piano, Harry’s vocals and its funny and brutal lyrics, it all comes together perfectly, and might just be the best song SPLIT DOGS have ever written – and that’s saying a lot!

‘Power Out’ closes off the album in fine fashion with yet another punk ‘n roll banger, powering its way to the close of Nice N’ Rough with plenty of ‘oi’s’, and an excellent build-up on the bridge ahead of one final guitar solo from Mil.

Nice N’ Rough is a fantastic addition to SPLIT DOGS discography and demonstrates how they’re keeping their momentum up as they continue to dominate the underground rock scene.

Nice N’ Rough is out Friday 25th September via Venn Records, with physical versions available to purchase here and the digital version available to stream here