{"id":28224,"date":"2026-03-31T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=28224"},"modified":"2026-03-30T20:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T19:00:48","slug":"grade-2-talk-about-it-hellcat-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=28224","title":{"rendered":"Grade 2 &#8211; &#8216;Talk About It&#8217; (Hellcat Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"298\" src=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-300x298.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-300x298.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-1024x1018.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-768x764.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-1140x1134.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/81-wxygta8L._AC_SL1500_.jpg 1488w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Well, we\u2019re a few months into a new year, and there\u2019s already been plenty of quality new music, but I think there\u2019s a big contender for album of the year already, up step Isle Of Wight\u00a0finest the brilliant Grade 2 with the excellent \u2018Talk About It\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This 3 piece are going from strength to strength and just keep getting better with every album. Being well into over a decade of making music from the earlier Oi!\u00a0 And Street Punk influence Grade 2 are now fully cementing themselves as one of the UK\u2019s finest melodic high-energy punk rockers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sid (Vocals\/Bass), Jack (Guitar\/Vocals) and Jacob (Drums) are certainly honing their craft, and since singing to legendary Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong label Hellcat Records a few albums ago,\u00a0they just keep stepping it up a notch. I could give lots more superlatives, but let\u2019s get down to it, the new album.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First up we get one of the singles ahead of the release and it\u2019s a banger \u2018Cut Throat\u2019 starts with guitar feedback and you immediately sense this is going to be aggressive and in your face and that it is, a opening guitar lick that will be stuck in your head and a brilliant and prominent bass line throughout that Matt Freeman would be proud of. This sounds huge and brilliantly produced, these boys aren\u2019t messing about here with the message being even in this Cut Throat world, Grade 2 are here to stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next up, we have the insanely catchy \u2018Hanging On To You\u2019 which showcases both Jack and Sid exchanging vocals on the verses, and with a chorus, I dare you to try not to sing along to.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Grade 2 - &quot;Better Today&quot;\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vqLzI5_J1Wc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Standing In The Downpour\u2019 will surely have audiences bouncing up and down on the band&#8217;s current UK and European tour. I\u2019ve had a smile on my face every time I\u2019ve heard it, it took a few listens to notice, but when the chorus kicks in, I\u2019m sure fans of The Clash will also have that same grin as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Better Today\u2019 is up next and has a great message for anyone who\u2019s struggling in this world, be it with mental health or loneliness. Speak to people, you are not alone, this is euphoric stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Title track \u2018Talk About It\u2019 comes in close to the halfway mark and is my personal highlight, with a\u00a0brilliant opening riff that bursts into a \u201cNah Nah Nah\u201d right out of the Lars Frederiksen playbook, with the surprise of piano playing throughout, this 2:37 song will have everyone pogoing around the room, no doubt about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Don\u2019t Worry About Me\u2019 lyrically is brilliant and is a middle finger to the naysayers and people who try to push in certain directions. \u201cI mean everything I say, I\u2019m doing it my way, I never need anyone to validate me, so don\u2019t worry about me\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re getting deep into the album now and the next three songs \u201cCrash And Burn\u201d, \u201cSmugglers Haven\u201d and \u201cRotten\u201d show off how tight this band have become, Jacob the man with the sticks keeps the pace up throughout and Sid\u2019s bass-lines are right up front in the mix and of course there\u2019s some monster riffs in here from Jack and some great vocal exchanges, this is like going back to the Rancid classic 2000 album and that\u2019s a big compliment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And to finish this superb album, we get a double salvo of the dark, brooding atmosphere of \u2018Wasteland\u2019, which tackles the dying towns and cities of the UK, whether it\u2019s the Isle of Wight or the country in general, it\u2019s very apt. The writing is on the wall indeed. This is followed by the light at the end of the tunnel, the excellent \u2018Otherside\u2019, which is a song full of hope and looking forward, not backwards, overcoming difficulties. Grade 2 have made it through to the other side and is exactly where they should be!!!!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There we have it, ladies and Gentlemen, 11 songs, 25 minutes, and we have one of the albums of the year with Grade2 and \u2018Talk About It\u2019. Once this album is in your head, it will be on repeat. Catch them on their current tour and buy yourself a copy, it\u2019s an absolute banger.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buy <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4s9j13d\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4s9j13d\">Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Author: Christian Davies\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well, we\u2019re a few months into a new year, and there\u2019s already been plenty of quality new music, but I think there\u2019s a big contender for album of the year already, up step Isle Of Wight\u00a0finest the brilliant Grade 2 with the excellent \u2018Talk About It\u2019 This 3 piece are going from strength to strength [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[8733,867,6082,9061,1787,1710,1680,1833,2052],"class_list":["post-28224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-chris-davies","tag-grade-2","tag-hellcat-records","tag-hellcaty-records","tag-its-a-revolution","tag-rpm-online","tag-rpmonline","tag-tourlife","tag-vinyl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28226,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28224\/revisions\/28226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}