After turning in two superb albums within the space of twelve months in 2021, American rockers Hearts & Hand Grenades return, thankfully, in 2024 with more of the same.

But whilst that ‘more of the same’ tag might be, in the case of other bands at least, a signifier of a creative drying up of the well, in the case of Stephanie Wlosinksi and company, it’s very much a cause for celebration…

Y’see, we’ve been big supporters of H&HG here at Sentinel Daily since our first contact with the band’s Turning To Ashes elpee; What turned us on to the band was the effortless ease with which they suffused their punchy hard rock anthems with a classy new wave pop sensibility; These guys have a knack for a three minute pop tune, no doubt, but then beefing them up with meaty riffage and spine-tingling solos seemed to be a masterstroke, as the band produced nugget after nugget of rock-powered hummability.

This time around they seem a bit darker, and certainly a lot heavier, but the songs remain the same; Better Off Alone, the album’s title track and Boom are right up there with the best of what’s gone before, with Better Off Alone in particular an absolute peach of a pop rock belter. Guitarists Mike Bress and Kenny Blesy continue to evolve as an effective team, with Bress’ bludgeon acting as a perfect foil to Blesy’s incisive lead work, but once again the ear is drawn to the top-drawer vocals of Wlosinski, who must now, with three superb albums under her belt as evidence, emerge as one of the best in the business when it comes to this style of music. She’s added a nice death metal roar to her arsenal this time around, but for this reviewer’s money it’s her syncopated, rapid-fire delivery on tracks like Silver that make her such a special proposition. To listen to the performance here is to become an instant convert…

Great stuff, then, and with an up-and-at-’em label like Eclipse in their corner and perhaps the most complete set of songs they’ve yet delivered, you’d have to think this is a band that’s going to make big strides forward in 2024…

Where I Begin releases on January 26th.