There’s very little about Gurriers that feels restrained. From the moment you press play on any of their tracks, it feels like you’re being thrown into the middle of something already in motion. The guitars collide, the drums race your chest forward, and the band’s explosive angst is impossible to ignore. On their latest album Nobody’s Coming To Save You, that chaos remains, showing why they’re one of the most exciting bands coming out of the post-punk scene.
Their debut album Come and See grew massively in popularity after being featured on BBC Radio 6 Music’s A-List, and showed exactly what the band were capable of, with massive frantic energy alongside lyrics that never shied away from the frustrations of modern life. It was a record that immediately gave Gurriers their own identity, and established them as a band with plenty more to give, which really makes them stand out amongst the flurry of bands emerging from Ireland at the moment.
Opening with the title track Nobody’s Coming To Save You, Gurriers waste no time in showing how much they have developed since their debut. The track begins with a tense, almost uneasy atmosphere before building into the kind of explosive chorus that has become a staple of the band’s sound. In terms of lyrics, it carries the vexation and uncertainty that runs throughout the album, but there is also definitely cause for reason to interpret a sense of determination behind it, making it feel less like a song about giving up and more like a reminder that nobody is coming to fix things for you. It is a strong introduction to the album and sets the tone for what follows.
Although it is present throughout the album, the opening track is a perfect showcase of one of the elements of this record that stands out to me the most, that being the drums. Pierce Callaghan is seriously fantastic, especially in this opening song. His style of drumming is almost simplistic in a way, but his precision and pace are incorporated into the album superbly and echoes out as it carries each track along.
Party Lines serves as not only the second track, but also the second single released for the album. This is one that really got me excited ahead of the album’s release. It keeps their signature sound while also pushing towards a more dance-punk feel with its relentless beat and a resonant bass line that keeps the track moving. The lyrics themselves are a direct reaction to the escalating war in Sudan and the hypocrisy of governments who themselves are a leading cause of violence. Dan Hoff’s increasingly furious vocal delivery complements these dark themes perfectly, making the track feel less like a conventional protest song and more like an outburst of frustration.
Especially in tracks such as Shades, Today Is Not Enough and Nothing Happens Twice, the guitar work really stands out as unique in comparison to a lot of Gurriers’ previous work. They feel very electronic and mimic dark synths, blending their typical grunge style with new-wave elements that prevent the album from becoming repetitive in their growing discography and helping to separate it from their last record. This is certainly one of the strengths of the new album and shows how the band aren’t afraid to experiment with their sound and creates great progression from Come and See.
As the album continues, a criticism I had was that some of the tracks tend to blend together individually. The relentless pace and similar intensity that makes Gurriers so exciting can occasionally work against them, with a few songs struggling to leave the same lasting impression that the opening tracks do. This doesn’t necessarily make these songs bad, but it does mean that individually they can feel less distinctive when placed alongside the rest of the album.
Despite this previous criticism, one track towards the end of the album that really stands out to me amongst the rest is I Wish I Was. It’s an incredible refrain from the booming energy shown previously and it works extremely well at this stage of the album. The vocals are sombre and haunting as Hoff sings of a “former life” and a “youthful glow” that maybe aren’t present anymore. As the song accumulates to Hoff repeating the title of the song with the instruments taking a step back, it really sticks with you and furthers that ghostly feel that embodies this track. I Wish I Was is a really fantastic song that demonstrates Gurriers’ range admirably.
Nobody’s Coming To Save You closes out with one of my favourite tracks, Crybaby. The guitar work in this song is some of the best in the album and returns it to its moody grunge sound. It’s a slow burn and doesn’t explode until the fantastic middle point which is a hugely strong feature of this track. “I lie to myself” is repeated as the song meets its end as the guitar slows down and draws the curtains on an amazing track that encapsulates the darkness of the record as a whole flawlessly.
Overall, Nobody’s Coming To Save You is a really strong second album from Gurriers and shows how much the band have developed and found ways to experiment, as well as honing in on their sound since Come and See. There are definitely moments where some of the tracks blend together and don’t stand out as much individually, but this doesn’t take away from how enjoyable the album is as a whole. The differentiation with the guitars, the fantastic drumming and the darker moments throughout all add something new to their sound without taking away what makes them so fantastic to begin with. Gurriers have managed to build on their sound while still keeping that same explosiveness and thunderous sound that makes them so exciting, and Nobody’s Coming To Save You feels like another great step forward for the band, who I’m sure after this release and their upcoming tour will continue to cement themselves as a staple of the Irish grunge scene.
Gurriers: Nobody’s Coming To Save You – Released 25 September 2026 (Play It Again Sam)
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