ALBUM REVIEW: Split Dogs – Here To Destroy (Venn Records)
Split Dogs are a punk rock ‘n’ roll four-piece from Bristol who have spent the last couple of years taking the scene by storm.
Their incendiary live shows have made them one of the UK’s ‘must-see’ bands and this second album can only enhance their growing reputation.
It’s the follow-up to their promising self-titled 2023 debut, which marked them out as ones to watch, and it delivers in spades.
Here To Destroy is their first release for Venn Records (home to Bob Vylan, High Vis and Gallows) and marks the culmination of a journey that’s taken 10 years.
Vocalist Harry Martinez and guitarist Mil Martinez had the idea for a band combining punk, glam and heavy metal as far back as 2015, taking the name Split Dogs from zombie classic Return Of The Living Dead.
The pair added bits of Northern Soul, Slade and rock ‘n’ roll, and after adding Suez Boyle on bass after the release of the first album and Chris Hugall on drums last year, the current line-up was complete.
Here To Destroy was made in a refreshingly old-school way; recorded live over three days direct to a 16-track reel-to-reel tape machine, with no autotune, no effects pedals, no computer trickery, and Harry singing along in a vocal booth.
The result is a perfect distillation of their explosive live energy and attitude, and makes Here To Destroy an early contender for album of the year.
Changing personnel and influences have seen them progress beyond their early raw punk sound, but it’s full of hooks and a bludgeoning rhythm section, knitted together and driven along by Harry’s rasping vocals.
Comparisons with Amyl & The Sniffers are inevitable, and Harry is a force of nature to match the Aussie rockers’ frontwoman Amy; she’s a bundle of energy but she’s got a distinctive voice all of her own.
Nine songs absolutely tear out of the speakers, and it’s all over and done in 22 thrilling minutes, leaving you feeling like you’ve just been flattened by a steamroller.
It kicks off with the short and sweet Stay Tuned, and that’s followed by Monster Truck, whose dirty riff is a wonderful slice of pumped-up glam rock.
Animal is the song which would probably fit best on the first album, propelled by a buzzsaw guitar, with a stark warning not to mess if you’ve got any sense.
Be A Sport slows things down a little, but is just as full of invective as Harry sings “that dirty mouth it needs a wash, filthy like your mind is lost“.
Meg takes off at 80mph, with the bass and drums galloping to keep up with the breakneck guitar, while latest single Lafayette is a love letter to the Northern Soul club which Harry’s mother frequented in Wolverhampton as a youngster. We can all identify with its message of finding your people as she sings “I am fine here, I’m just fine here.” It’s the standout track here, and maybe their best song yet.
Lead single And What? barrels along like a ’60s rock ‘n’ roller, while the short but sweet Precious Stones has a Dead Kennedys swagger as it asks over and over “why does it burn?“
Suddenly we’re near the end, and the album closes in style with All In, a punchy little number featuring call and response verses and more of Harry’s putdowns – “All the mouth/But you keep your brains down south”.
Split Dogs say they don’t want to get famous on social media, and just want to show rock ‘n’ roll is alive and well. They’ve certainly achieved that, and my only grumble is that this record is too short. 9/10.
- Check out Split Dogs on their Bandcamp page HERE, then get yourself along to see them on the UK tour promoting this album. You really won’t regret it.
