8/10

With their newest outing 'Hatchet Man', Trim-based duo Spearside explode from their home studio with a collection that snarls, sneers, and stuns in equal measure. The brothers Walsh (Oisín and Cian) have crafted four tracks that barrel forward with teeth bared, daring you to look away.

The title-track opens with a furious punch, all serrated edges and guttural momentum. Oisín’s vocals bite through the distortion like a chainlink saw, while the instrumentation heaves with the kind of tension that feels both unhinged and perfectly calculated. Think Metz fist-fighting early Fugazi on a rural Irish backroad.

But Spearside aren’t here just to thrash about. 'Planning Our Escape' dials back the chaos without losing the emotional weight, uncoiling into something hazier and more bruised. It’s the sound of burnout at dawn; guitars fuzzed and frayed at the edges, with vocals hovering somewhere between resignation and resolve. There’s vulnerability here, but no fragility.

While 'All The Same' lurches into angular territory with jerky rhythms and a melancholic undertow. It’s pogo-ready post-punk in smeared eyeliner, finding strange comfort in its own awkwardness. And then there’s the closer, a cover of 'Are Friends Electric?' that begins with jangle-pop ghostliness before collapsing into a landslide of distortion and dream-state doom.

What’s clear across the EP is the band’s ever-evolving palette. The rawness remains, but there’s newfound breadth with layers of noise that suggest a more cathartic edge. It’s a project that refuses to sit still, shifting shapes without losing its spine. Spearside are building something loud, weird, and essential in their quiet corner of Meath. Best not to blink.