The Preston psychobilly veterans return in excellent form!
Nearly 30 years into their existence, and still bursting with youthful energy; we’d love to know The Hyperjax’s secret. This is the Preston trio’s sixth album, and whilst it’s hardly a departure from their signature sound, it’s comforting to realise once again that – in an increasingly uncertain world – you can rely on The Hyperjax to bring the tunes, the energy, and then some.
The brace of the title track and ‘Stranded in Skelmersdale’ makes for one hell of an opening statement, belting along at the kind of pace that makes you fear for their upright bass player’s fingers (it’s ok, though – we saw the band live recently and we can verify that he makes it look all too simple to play that fast). And my goodness, the hooks! Even when addressing the sorry state of the modern UK on the likes of ‘Damnation, Here We Go’ and ‘Ain’t That A Kick In The Teeth’, they’re still armed with the kind of choruses that are sure to bounce around your brain for days on end.
They’re just as effective when they ease up on the gas pedal, though. ‘The Charmed Life Of Barry Sheen’ and ‘Bad Luck Charm’ are built around great twangy surf-style guitar riffs, whilst the jaunty ‘Line In The Shifting Sands’ comes across as a ‘let’s part ways, no hard feelings’ anthem for the ages – and a great one at that.
If we absolutely had to find fault with this record, it’s that the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ musical approach means that ‘Scars On The Horizon’ yields little in the way of surprises. But really, who cares? There’s more than enough quality on show here to justify The Hyperjax’s status among the country’s finest and longest-running purveyors of psychobilly, and as ‘The Train You Never Caught’ brings things to a close, it’s clear there’s plenty of life left in them yet.
- Scars On The Horizon
- Stranded In Skelmersdale
- Bad Luck Charm
- Damnation, Here We Go
- The Scapegoat
- The Way You Used To Roll
- Ain’t That A Kick In The Teeth
- The Charmed Life Of Barry Sheen
- Just Passing Through
- A Greener Grass
- Line In The Shifting Sands
- The Train You Never Caught
Follow The Hyperjax on Their Socials:
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Bad Wolves honour Dolly Parton with their version of ‘Jolene’
Joining millions of fans around the world mourning the sudden passing of the Queen of Nashville, this is the perfect rock tribute from Bad Wolves
South London Punk Collective all-dayer, London Brixton Windmill, 30th August 2026
Well, we were looking forward to a long weekend of doing very little, and then the South London Punk Collective ruined our plans by assembling
Festival review: Tramlines July 2026 – the heartbeat of Sheffield!
From Hillsborough Park to the smallest details between the stages, discover why Sheffield’s Tramlines festival remains one of the friendliest weekends in the musical calendar!
EP review: Zebrahead complete their series with ‘O’
From Southern California, punk rock veterans Zebrahead formed back in 1996, the same year I was born. It’s strange to think I’m the same age
EP review: Initiate release ‘With Love // With Rage’
From Southern California, hardcore band Initiate have just signed with Blue Grape Music. New EP ‘With Love // With Rage’ released on 7th August 2026
EP review: RAD – ‘Rad To The Bone’
Like so many of the best bands, RAD may not take themselves too seriously as people, but ‘Rad To The Bone’ sees them take a
I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
