8/10
If Britain feels like a bad joke told by someone who’s already bored of the punchline, Roses in December have decided to answer it with a bark of laughter sharpened into a scream. Their new EP 'Divided and Conquered' is a blistering four tracks of weaponised satire and Northern grit aimed squarely at a country cracking down the middle.
Where their previous work channelled the heat of a world spiralling out of control, this EP turns its attention to the institutions fanning the flames. And instead of wrestling the chaos into order, Roses in December lean into the mess by charging into the studio with nothing but fury, instinct, and a willingness to come undone. You can hear the walls of Blank Studios buckle as the band swing between razor-sharp focus and glorious collapse, guided by Sam Grant’s industrial-strength production.
'Battleship Boomer' kicks the door off its hinges as a sneering, stomp-and-sprint commentary wrapped in the absurdity of a childhood game gone feral. It’s punk as political cartoon, loud enough to drown out Westminster and smart enough to make you listen again. 'In The Channel of a Hate Crime' follows like a Molotov thrown with precision as guitars spiral upward, vocals fray at the edges, as the whole thing feels moments from implosion in the best possible way.
Then comes 'Sharks', a frantic gallop drenched in sea-salt panic. Beneath the rapid-fire hooks lies a darker heart, but Roses in December disguise the tragedy with such adrenaline that you only notice the bruise after it blooms.
Their sound carries the bite of bands who’ve played too many shows in rooms too small for their ambition, the fire of a scene that refuses to go quietly, and the humour of people who know the only way to survive collapse is to laugh at the rubble.
'Divided and Conquered' is vicious, clever, and unapologetically Northern. It doesn’t fix anything, and it isn’t trying to. It gives you a place to put the frustration, a reason to clench your fist, and a reminder that rage, when channelled right, can be a community all on its own.
