GRADE 2 - Talk About It

The fifth album is the right moment for a leap in quality. That is, in a nutshell, the outcome of the journey undertaken by England's Grade 2, now out with "Talk About It", the fifth piece in the mosaic of a career on a constant rise within the "underground" scenes of Anglo-Saxon punk.

The Isle of Wight trio (Jack Chatfield on vocals and guitar, Sid Ryan on bass and vocals, Jacob Hull on drums), three years on from their previous, self-titled record, take what is perhaps the decisive step towards establishing themselves in the sprawling archipelago of punk on both sides of the Atlantic. "Talk About It" is the third album Grade 2 have released for Hellcat Records, the Epitaph offshoot founded by Tim Armstrong, and its eleven tracks (running just 25 minutes) sound like a kind of summation of Chatfield and co.'s artistic journey. Setting aside the single "Hanging Onto You", with its catchy, radio-friendly chorus, and the fizzy pop-punk of "Standing in the Downpour", the album doesn't offer the big punk anthems of the band's earlier work, but what conveys its overall quality is the effort the trio puts into making the listening experience feel cohesive.

What defines the "Grade 2 brand" is a kind of syncretism between different punk traditions and interpretations, which the English trio have managed to bring together under Armstrong's skilled guidance: onto the themes of unity, loyalty to the tribe and street life typical of British oi-punk, Grade 2 layer the sharp sounds of Californian hardcore, in a combination that sounds coherent and never forced. The great virtue of "Talk About It" lies precisely in its ability to hold together the power-pop urgency and mod revival of the most aggressive, early Jam, the hooligan attitude of English veterans like Booze & Glory, Lion's Law and Last Resort, and the instantly recognisable sound of Rancid.

The pulsing basslines that run through the record like an underground river are the living trace of this unexpected union, making Grade 2 sound more like Rancid, and better, than Rancid themselves have managed in recent years. The album's title track, for that matter, is something of a manifesto for this musical evolution, further confirmed by more aggressive yet just as evenly arranged tracks like "Cut Throat", "Don't Worry About Me", "Smugglers Haven" and "Crash And Burn".

There's also no shortage of recurring references to that sense of alienation that lies at the very origins of the whole punk story, well captured in "Wasteland", a track that describes, with little room for interpretation, life in the stagnant environment of Ryde, the small Isle of Wight town the trio hail from. In the closing "Otherside", meanwhile, there's even room for a sincere psychological, introspective attempt, a theme that rarely surfaces in the throbbing world of punk.

Finally, a special mention for the album's standout track: "Rotten", opened by a triumphant bassline and nervy guitars, and dotted with repeated, carefully placed references to George Orwell's "1984", is a sharp snapshot of today's global landscape, where the line between dystopia and reality grows ever blurrier.

In short, this is a coming-of-age test that Grade 2 pass with flying colours, delivering a record that rightfully deserves a place among the most significant punk albums of the 2020s. Speaking for the English trio, moreover, is their now well-established knack—rare among their peers—for grasping that, in times like these, returning to one's roots and making them one's own is already a significant, revolutionary act.

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02/05/2026