Roses in December's 'Divided and Conquered' is a punk uppercut for a country going off the rails

Photo: Michael Robert Williams

Some records slap you awake. Others drag you by the collar into the chaos. Divided and Conquered, the roaring new EP from Roses in December, does both, and then grins while the dust settles. It’s a ferocious comeback and the sound of a band bottling the absolute absurdity of modern Britain and shaking it until it explodes in your face.

Recorded under the watchful, wonderfully unhinged ear of Sam Grant at Blank Studios, this EP captures the band operating at full adrenalised tilt. They ditched demos, ditched polish, ditched safety nets, and what emerged is their most electrifying, high-voltage work yet. The songs feel like they’ve been dragged straight from a rehearsal room floor still warm from the chaos.

'Battleship Boomer' sets the whole thing ablaze. It’s sardonic, savage, and absurd in the best way, delivering political commentary wrapped in a sardonic grin, powered by riffs that punch like a migraine in surround sound. It’s punk rock turned into animated satire, and it lands with gleeful venom.

While 'Sharks' is an anthem dressed in saltwater panic and frantic, frenetic riffs. It’s wildly infectious, almost playful, until the gut-punch of the subject matter creeps in. Roses in December have always been good at smuggling heartbreak under hooks, but here, they’ve perfected the sleight of hand.

But what makes 'Divided and Conquered' genuinely thrilling is how alive it is. Roses in December sound like a band rediscovering the joy of making a glorious racket by leaning into panic, humour, community, and utter catharsis. Their riffs hit harder, their vocals snarl sharper, and the whole EP moves like a runaway train powered by pure frustration and Northern resilience.

This is a reminder that when everything around you teeters on the edge of parody, the best thing you can do is channel the madness into something loud, clever, and defiantly human.

Roses in December have blasted their way back. And 'Divided and Conquered' is the exact punch the UK’s underground needed.