GRADE 2
SELF-TITLED ALBUM OUT ON FEBRUARY 17TH VIA HELLCAT RECORDS
The new single “Under the Streetlight” can be seen and heard here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhsRypa6d38
The British punk band Grade 2 announces today their third studio album titled "Grade 2," which will be released on February 17, 2023, via Hellcat Records. The album is their strongest work to date, combining the uncompromising ethos of punk with the outcry of contemporary injustice, personal identity, and the frustrations of Gen-Z youth, authentically told by three boys through whose veins punk flows.
On November 14, 2022, Grade 2 also released a new music video for the single "Under The Streetlight." The energetic track, featuring a spirited, hopeful melody, comes with a music video that celebrates the strength of community. The band comments: "Even when there are times when life feels stagnant or things don’t go as planned, there will always be people who support you, whether it’s friends, a partner, or your family."
Fifty years after the genre turned the music world upside down, Grade 2 from the United Kingdom brings the raw power of old school punk to a new generation. United by their love for old-school punk, ska, and oi, childhood friends Sid Ryan (vocals, bass), Jacob Hull (drums), and Jack Chatfield (guitar, vocals) formed the band at the age of fourteen and honed their craft with Clash and Jam covers before refining their own sound. After already releasing an album and an EP, the trio signed with Hellcat Records in 2018 and released their album "Graveyard Island" in 2019.
Grade 2 merges the almost mythical musical heritage of their home island, Isle of Wight, with the bleak reality of growing up in a weary coastal town, delivering energetic punk characterized by passion, fear, humor, and despair. The lead single "Doing Time" is a thunderous hardcore punk track that screams: "Spoon feed me corporate lies; I left that place with a noose to my neck". Frontman Sid Ryan explains: "Like everyone else, 2020 really messed with us." He continues: "Nevertheless, we were able to channel every ounce of that despair into every second of this record."
The result is a hard-hitting 35-minute album that is equally stirring, exhilarating, and liberating. The trio is known for their explosive live performances and exceptional musical talent, and with this record, they have succeeded in capturing the essence of their live shows within the limited format of an album.
