After 2024’s Letter to Self, Dublin’s SPRINTS replaced founding guitarist Colm O’Reilly with Zac Stephenson. While some bands lose their character after such a major change, SPRINTS seem to have lost none of their essence.

The intro track, Abandon, sets the stage for All That Is Over. Gloomy riffs and controlled drums transform the song into an almost drone-esque piece. To The Bone maintains the momentum of the first track without amplifying it, only for Descartes to unleash the sheer insanity that the band is capable of. “Vanity is the curse of culture / Ignorance becomes the death of us”, shouts singer Karla Chubb, setting foot into philosophical territory as the band navigates through modern life. Even when the band is not going all out, there is a sense of disorder in their groundedness.

Chubb knows that the world is dystopic. The band toured heavily after their debut, and the singer was unfortunately assaulted at two of their shows. In a day where we are desensitized towards such news due to the constant occurrence of violence and harassment both in and out of the music scene, SPRINTS’ rage feels justified. On the in-your-face banger Rage, Chubb channels her frustration into a confrontation of societal manipulation and hypocrisy.

Meanwhile, Better sounds almost optimistic in an album that is heavily rooted in the anger of garage-punk and post-punk revival. As Chubb sings, “Oh, I liked you better / And now we’ve lost our grip / And we’ve lost it all”, the disappointment in her voice is crystal clear. While All That Is Over fires on all fronts on most tracks, the gloomy gothic aesthetic starts to become repetitive after a while. Admittedly, the album is only thirty-eight minutes, but tracks like Need and Something’s Gonna Happen do not bring anything new to the table which leads to All That Is Over starting to sound mushy at points. Still, the fierceness of Beg and Pieces redeem the album’s misses.

By the time the penultimate closer Desire rolls around, one thing is clear: SPRINTS are not holding back. The anger of their previous album has been doubled, tripled even, and there seems to be no tour fatigue either. The six-minute track is explosive, and almost dives into country territory at points without ever losing what makes SPRINTS them. It’s intensely visceral, and a product of the emotional turbulence of our times.

On All That Is Over, the band feels confident in their sound. With their new guitarist on board, SPRINTS delves into the horrors of modern life.

order All That Is Over by SPRINTS HERE