Roses in December return with Divided and Conquered, an explosive EP OUT NOW.
Packed with punchy riffs, snarling distortion and powerful vocals, the collection sees the band at their most urgent and volatile as the country around them seems to be collapsing. “The EP is basically us trying to process the absolute state of Britain right now — but doing it through a cartoon lens.”
Where Inferno raged against a world on fire, Divided and Conquered tears into the systems letting it burn. “We decided to walk into the studio with no demos and no safety net,” says the band. “Just raw emotion. It’s the closest we’ve ever sounded to the practice room – slightly unhinged, on the brink of collapse, but somehow holding it together.”
Born inside the walls of Blank Studios in Newcastle with Sam Grant (Pigs x7) at the controls, the EP harnesses chaos as a weapon. Battleship Boomer satirises migration policy through the lens of a twisted board game, while In The Channel of a Hate Crime spirals into full-scale detonation, one riff escalating like rhetoric from those in power. Elsewhere, Sharks disguises tragedy in a frenetic, sea-sprayed anthem – proof that sometimes all you can do is laugh while sinking.
The visual world is equally biting. Viz Comics cartoonist Lee Healey returns with artwork depicting a wilted red rose – a nod to the Labour Party’s hollowed-out symbolism and Newcastle’s black-and-white heritage. “The country feels absurd… so we decided to sound absurd. You either cry or take the piss. We’re doing both,” Roses in December add.
Formerly known as Crux, the band have earned support from Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 6) and Nicky Roberts (BBC Introducing) while racking up shows at Alt Festival (part of The Great Escape 2024), A Stone’s Throw Festival, and sold-out venues across Newcastle.
Brutal, relentless and defiantly Northern, Divided and Conquered cements Roses in December as one of the UK’s most uncompromising new punk forces, smashing apathy and screaming into the void so the rest of us don’t have to. Divided and Conquered is out November 7th on all streaming platforms.
You can also check out the short film which is running parallel to the EP below.
