The apocalypse on the radio...
This is not a brand new release – it came out last year – but after loving her first album Bleed Your Heart Out (2022) and enjoying her set at Punk Rock Raduno, I somehow missed this follow-up until now.
It kicks off with the high energy singalong title track, which encapsulates all the highlights of her debut album into one song. It's rock, it's power pop, it's got a radio-friendly chorus – it sparkles with poppy charm while maintaining a punk edge.
Like a Domino combines great guitar tones, pounding drums and another earworm chorus. No More Romance starts with a jangly powerpop guitar riff and a hyperactive fuzzy bass line before some upstroke guitar comes in, reminding me of No Doubt but with more grit and guts – this song should be a hit.
The jangly 60s pop inspired Damage control brings some sonic diversity and room to breathe before the fuzz rock of Disconnected and anthemic single Here Comes The Love Bomb turn up the volume again.
My only complaint with Bleed Your Heart Out was that it felt front loaded with the best songs, leaving the back half of the album less exciting and lower tempo. But The Apocalypse Dream avoids that problem, keeping the energy up all the way through. I can imagine the punk rocker You'll Be The Death Of Me is a live set highlight.
Kate is an exceedingly cool and stylish frontwoman, with all the substance to back up that style. This builds and improves on the first album. The apocalypse never sounded so good!
