SPRINTS – All That Is Over

Label: City Slang / Sub Pop
Released: 26th September 2025

If their ‘Manifesto’ EP introduced Sprints as a vital new voice, and debut ‘Letter To Self’ underlined it in permanent marker, then ‘All That Is Over’ is their blazing coronation. It’s confident, clever, loud and deliberate – an album that doesn’t just know what it’s doing, but makes absolutely sure you do too. Every track lands with intent, every lyric sharp with lived experience and righteous fury.

Opening with the slow burn of ‘Abandon’, Karla Chubb sets the tone: “I used to live here”, she repeats, grounding a record that’s as much about identity and place as it is about rage and release. From there, it’s pedal-down. ‘Descartes’ barrels forward like a takedown in motion: “I speak so therefore I understand” flips Descartes’ philosophy on its head, skewering the performative bluster of those who confuse volume for value.

‘Need’ snarls with barbed wit at the hypocrisy of being both praised and diminished in the same breath: “Call me pretty, call me beautiful / And then tell me I mean nothing.” ‘Beg’ pulls back slightly, exploring new sonic weight with a title-drop that gives the album its name. ‘Rage’ – swaggering and psych-tinged – delivers its message with dead-eyed precision, while ‘Better’ finds the band at their most understated, with a shoegaze shimmer that shows just how far they’ve expanded their sound.

And then there’s ‘Desire’ – all six minutes of it – seductive, cinematic and smouldering. “Fool me once, fool me twice / I’d let her fool me again.” It’s a staggering closer that ties the whole record together in one final tumbleweed roll through emotional and political terrain.

There’s no shortage of noise in 2025, but precious little of it says something worth hearing. Sprints do. ‘All That Is Over’ is the sound of a group with something urgent to say, and the chops to say it louder, weirder and smarter than anyone else. Also, Sprints are just a fantastic band. Let’s not overcomplicate it.