Album Review: Sprints - 'All That Is Over'
Irish rockers Sprints are back with a mosh-pit ready album that suits the prolific tourers who just keep on getting better and better – asking – half-jokingly, “Is Karla Jesus?” and based on All That is Over - the answer may well be yes.
Letter to Self gave Sprints the energy that they needed to rise above the pack in one of the much talked about indie albums, and following a recent chaotic, welcoming set at 2000 Trees, they’re back, having seemingly never rested and found the time to put some tracks together despite a schedule that has seen them constantly on the road. This is All That Is Over, the result of that – a slowed down approach that gives the band a moment to breath. “I used to live here… frontwoman and guitarist Karla Chubb gives a warning cry about what is to come: “abandon all hope,” she says, “I don’t grow old, I grow unrecognisable.” There’s an element of truth there – as the years go by, people can change so much in such a short space of time that they’re no longer who they were ten, even five years ago. It's a strong, haunting start that showcases the band dealing with the horrors outside of themselves and the touring world just as much as within, they’ve been one of the champions of a free Palestine from day one, much like many Irish acts, and their activism is heavy over the influence of this album. It’s also meta: Sprints came out of 2024 very different from they entered it, now one of the biggest names in the punk scene.
Chubb no longer cares about giving a fuck – this is an album that lets loose and swings for the fences in violent, unpredictable ways. The first album, she cites, was made with a male dominated industry in mind. This is not the case here – Sprints pits are a breath of fresh air from the heavier bands, accepting, welcoming, fitting in with an inclusive stance welcoming to all. For fans of Lambrini Girls and Amyl and the Sniffers you’ll be right at home here – this is the band trying to capture the heights of their first album and instead swinging for the fences this time out – To the Bones talks about a chilly, colder nature that takes a time to get underway – and is chilly, uncomfortable and good at getting under your skin. It’s album that builds and builds, getting underway with triumphant bravado.
Whilst many bands would want a break Sprints are just not slowing down and their energy is all over this album from track one and doesn’t let up over the eleven tracks – Descartes, the first single, is a punchy one, raw sonic at its best – “vanity is the curse of our culture,” Chubb quotes Rachel Cusk’s Outline, and “I speak so therefore I understand” is a powerful rallying cry against projecting your beliefs or identity as more important than somebody else’s and how that is processed – it’s punchy and catchy with a raw sense of anger. “call me pious... call us anything you want from me,” it’s all about Chubb processing the world and using writing as a tool to do just that. Aggression and confidence of the second album with excellent social commentary mixed in – it’s a banger that reassures fans you’re in the right place.
We’re off now, well and truly. Need is a belter of a wall of sound and Beg and Rage – this run of tracks feel like a sweltering run of mosh pits ready to happen. Need calls for the desire to be told that you are loved and needed – luring you in with false promises before being told to be left the fuck alone, in a brash, abrasive, I don’t give a fuck fashion that really gives this song a raw burst of energy, and Better is a single that taps into the My Bloody Valentine influence for a sonic tribute to Loveless. Chubb is aware that people are tired, disillusioned, and marginalised – and listening to any false prophet willing to give them an answer. That makes Sprints aware that people are finding it easier to be angry than to listen to change – and the shadows of Viagra Boys over the heavy hitters of this album really give it a kicking edge.
Beg was written in a funny, satirical way that takes potshots at people in power whose moral codes are preached in a hypocritical way, but happy to break it behind their back. Let me beg, let me come, let me face towards the sun is catchy, a call and response that asks – half jokingly, half not – is Karla Jesus? And the answer may well be yes.
The rest of the album is tight, provocative and unafraid to be daring. Something’s Gonna Happen captures the Sprints tone, capturing the theme of the record of those being on the break of change and wanting to make the next step, but being unable to because of the cruelty of the world’s bitter humour kicking you down. The double entree of being optimistic but afraid; listening to the overwhelming voices – takes an otherwise meaningful, simple track and turns in into something raw and powerful.
It is safe to say that Sprints overcome second album syndrome that has befallen many a band. They’re the real deal – one of the most talented punk outfits of the decade. All That Is Over proves they still have it as much as their live shows; as if there was any doubt about that – raw, talented performers at the top of their game anchored by one of the best frontwomen in the industry.
Words by Miles Milton Jefferies
