Albums of the Year 2025: #16

Hot Shock is a simply stunning debut album that has power, passion, tunes, and brings the same joy into the room like Hole or Elastica.

In the past two years, the Hastings-via-Brighton trio - comprising Tallulah Sim-Savage (vocals/guitar), Lola Sam (bass), and Alfie Sayers (drums) - have toured the world over, clocking up over 150 dates. This includes shows with Royal Blood and Frank Carter, as well as major festival appearances at Reading and Leeds and All Points East.

Out of all this comes their debut album, Hot Shock (via Marathon Artists). It is a record of adrenaline-jolted anthems about abandoning fear and leaping boldly towards the future.

Hot Shock was created in collaboration with an all-female production team at the prestigious RAK studios, including Catherine Marks (Boygenius, Wolf Alice) and Steph Marziano (Hayley Williams, Let's Eat Grandma). Additional recording took place with Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint in Joshua Tree, California.

These songs were made to be played to a crowd, loud and with abandon. However, there is also a beating pulse of vulnerability underscoring the album, creating an honest and moving sentiment sure to propel Hot Shock towards becoming the UK's next big crossover rock act - and beyond.

For fans of Hole, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Mudhoney, and Elastica.