A
Prang
Cooking Vinyl
Cranking this on the hottest day of the year doesn’t just feel like a coincidence; it feels like a cosmic prank with perfect timing. The second that opener, ‘Hello Sunshine’ blasts in with that sun bleached swagger, all sea salt breeze and backyard BBQ bravado, the vibes are set. It’s been just over twenty years since these cheeky monkeys last lobbed new music at our unsuspecting ears, and truthfully, in a world that is currently held together through duct tape and bad decisions, this record hits like the feel-good punk rock vitamin shot of 2026. It’s impetuous but in all the right ways, grin-inducing nostalgia without ever being dusty, and so stupidly fun you can virtually hear the sweat dripping off the amps. For those of us who remember being feral and deliriously alive in the mosh pits of the ‘How Ace Are Buildings’ debut tour back in ’97, hearing those cult classics for the first time felt like they were detonating something inside us. ‘Prang’ hits as though someone has purposely uncorked that bottled lightning elixir and handed it back still fizzing. It’s the same reckless, heart thumping, sweat slicked excitement all over again. We get to lose our minds one more time. ‘Walkover’ is an infectious rock anthem built to be sung loudly, badly, and without a single care in the world. Then everything slows on ‘Shit Summer’ for a touching, soul baring moment. A vulnerable Jason Perry lays out a time when things weren’t so peachy, and the stripped back rawness becomes a safe, grounding space amid all the uplift and chaos. ‘Lifeline’ is the perfect closer, raising a glass to an album created with some of life’s best ingredients: love, friendship and music. This isn’t just a grateful comeback. It’s a supercharged, cathartic cannonball into the deep end with sunglasses on and absolutely no plan to dry off.
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Review By Nickie Hobbs