HERE TO STAY: PUNK ‘N’ ROLL REVIVALISTS SPLIT DOGS RETURN!

ALBUM REVIEW: SPLIT DOGS – HERE TO DESTROY by Craig Harston

Bristol’s punk ‘n’ rollers SPLIT DOGS are back with their second album, ‘Here To Destroy‘. Taking their DIY ethos to it’s extreme, the four-piece stripped things right back, recording the album over three days and decided not to use any autotune or computers and singer Harry Atkins recorded all the vocals ‘live’. The end result is nine tracks of raw, adrenaline fuelled punk and rock.

SPLIT DOGS’ self-titled debut had more emphasis on their punk rock side but here they’ve embraced more of their rock ‘n’ roll roots. After a punky opening, ‘Monster Truck’ showcases just this, with rockin’ guitars and vocals from Harry, all about not being taken for granted. It features a superb guitar solo followed by the refrain “You suck, you really suck, mad man I’m a monster truck” to close it out. ‘Be A Sport’ is a straight up rock song that is sure to go down well in a live setting while ‘Lafayette’ is pure rock ‘n’ roll, it’s lyrics paying tribute to the club Harry’s mother frequented in her younger years (“Northern Soul hit’s me, I’m alive and you know I’m free”).

This isn’t to say there isn’t plenty of punk rock on offer – far from it! Album opener ‘Stay Tuned’ gets things off to a thunderous start and is absolutely relentless, featuring blistering guitars and drums alongside Harry’s seemingly non-stop vocals, with truly terrifying lyrics about a nightmarish future! ‘Animal’, meanwhile, is a super fast punk rock banger and ‘Meg‘ keeps the momentum up. ‘And What’ takes on a garagey/bluesy punk sound and is an ode to the working class being stuck in the daily grind – same great guitar riffs here along with great back up vocals.

Closing out the album is arguably the best song – ‘All In’ encompasses everything that is great about SPLIT DOGS. Harry’s snarling vocals, superb guitar riffs, tight drums, a perfect storm of punk and rock ‘n’ roll and a truly face melting guitar solo – plus plenty of ‘woah’s! There’s a finality to it that will make it a great song for SPLIT DOGS to close their raucous live shows with.

‘Here To Destroy’ is a fantastic sophomore effort and absolutely worth your time – and at only 9 songs over 22 minutes it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome while at the same time leaving you wanting more!

SPLIT DOGS are on tour now with tickets available here https://www.splitdogs.co.uk/live-1

‘Here To Destroy’ releases on 28th February via Venn Records and can be pre-ordered here https://vennrecords.com/collections/here-to-destroy