Grade 2 have a lot to say, and ‘Talk About It’ is where they say all of it. The Isle of Wight punk trio, Sid Ryan, Jack Chatfield, and Jacob Hull, deliver their fourth album via Hellcat Records, a twelve-track chronicle of love, loss, and the grinding work of growing up inside a band. This is their most direct and emotionally honest record yet, and it lands hard.
The lead single “Standing In The Downpour” sets the tone immediately. Written like a conversation between old friends, it traces the arc from rowdy seaside-town adolescence to the harder work of finding your footing as an adult. It’s defiant without being cheap about it, a punk track with real texture and a hook that sticks. Grade 2 have always had the energy. Here, they’ve matched it with genuine songwriting depth.
The album title says everything. “It became ‘Talk About It,’ which sums up the whole album,” frontman Sid Ryan explains, “touching on every emotion that you feel while being in a band, from love to loss to personal turmoil to ambition. It’s a coming-of-age story about Grade 2 entering adulthood.” Twelve years since they first cranked amps as schoolkids, they’ve earned every word of it.
The band’s resume backs up the confidence. Festival slots at Rock am Ring, shared stages with Rancid and Slipknot, and a self-titled 2023 LP that announced them as one of modern punk’s most compelling acts. ‘Talk About It’ doesn’t rest on any of that. It pushes forward, harder and more focused than anything they’ve done before.
‘Talk About It’ is out now via Hellcat Records. Grade 2 hits Europe this spring, with dates running through June.
‘Talk About It’ Tracklist:
Cut Throat
Hanging Onto You
Standing In The Downpour
Better Today
Talk About It
Don’t Worry About Me
Crash And Burn
Smugglers Haven
Rotten
Wasteland
Otherside
2026 Tour Dates:
April 25 – Dusseldorf, Germany – Zakk
April 30 – Jena, Germany – F-Haus
June 18 – Dessel, Belgium – Plein Air
June 20 – Zurich, CH – Stadion Letzigrund