There’s a lot you could say about Space Pistol, even before diving into their signature brand of kickass alternative rock. The hot pink jumpsuits alone should clue you in that Buckland and company aren’t your typical three-piece, and you’d be right in assuming the band are out to knock your socks off— that was certainly the mission statement of 2024’s ‘Leave With Everything,’ a record that put the crew firmly on the map. Now two years later, the crimson cover of new album ‘Headlocker’ announces their triumphant return: it’s all kinds of awesome.

Space Pistol’s second LP confirms something their first already made pretty clear— they are indeed one of the most raucous and energetic groups on the market. The band are once again working with producer Dave Draper, a man who obviously knows how to capture their sound in a big way: we knew how biting Buckland’s guitar tones and Sainsbury’s bass parts were going to be as soon as single ‘Space Pirate’ launched back in April, but the album still manages to one-up itself time and time again. The extreme urgency that fuels ‘Ambulance’ and ‘Fantasmagorical’ comes, first and foremost, from the undeniable intensity its performers are bringing to the table. On ‘Headlocker,’ every riff cuts through the mix, every Tom Darby drum hit smacks you across the head, every vocal is a howl of anguish, and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

This is not a record that lets even a second go to waste: where ‘Leave With Everything’ opened with the slow build of ‘Happiness Anonymous,’ the new album launches itself straight into the action from the off. The project is dominated by mid-tempo rockers, a formula that Space Pistol continually work to twist on its head— you could imagine how another band might write the stomping riffs and catchy melodies of ‘Devil and the Deep Sea,’ but they’d surely envy Buckland and company’s ability to turn those ingredients into a finished product that feels so massive, so towering by its conclusion. New drummer Tom Darby settles in very comfortably on this, an album with its rough edges shaved down to the bone. ‘Headlocker’ isn’t quite as exploratory as its predecessor, but neither is it stagnant by any means: it’s the sound of a band finding and refining their style, and leaving their competition in the dust.

Now of course, they are still a group in their infancy, and we’d be remiss not to mention the choice few tracks that don’t quite come together into the booming assembly you’d expect of Space Pistol. ‘New’ is certainly an outlier in the tracklist, trading in the band’s usual enthusiasm for a song full of sentimental lyrical themes and cozy vocal harmonies— you have to give the band props for expanding their sound with this one, but all the same, the ballad at the track’s core gets swallowed by its larger-than-life instrumentation, and doesn’t quite stick the landing because of it. In some ways, streamlining their sound was always going to be a risky move from Space Pistol, who’ve always been keen to keep you on your toes. Single ‘I Can’t Sleep,’ relatable as it may be, is the mid-tempo rocker that gets lost in the shuffle, mostly because it’s surrounded by such stiff competition.

The highlights on ‘Headlocker’ come when the band throw all caution to the wind and start piling on the distortion: they most certainly know how to get your blood pumping! Space Pistol’s influence from Queens of the Stone Age is inescapable on ‘Turbo Blood’ and ‘Surreal,’ two songs that have you drowning in angular guitar riffs and whiplash-inducing turnovers— we’ve already mentioned how furious and passionate the record’s performances are, but truly, these songs would fall apart if Buckland and Sainsbury weren’t giving their all to them like this. Space Pistol are absolutely throwing themselves at the urgent punk-infused riffs of ‘Fantasmagorical,’ which completely sells its refrain of “running late for a meaningful end,” and you could say much the same for ‘Ambulance,’ a song that pairs psychedelic effects with meat-headed climaxes in spectacular fashion. The three-piece are able to churn through their excellent material in record time.

In its second half, ‘Headlocker’ solidifies itself as the true culmination of the group’s work up to this point with a five-track run most acts would kill for: it’s big, it’s bold, it’s bonkers, and it’s just plain fun. That title track is all kinds of anthemic, putting those ginormous guitar tones to use for a chorus that washes over you, equal parts enthralling and disarming. Here, as the album draws towards its climax, Space Pistol put their evolution as songwriters and performers on full display— the excellent bass work and altogether groovy rhythms of ‘Isolationist’ are downright infectious, and that’s not even mentioning the emotional heft these songs are dragged behind them. Buckland and company round out their sophomore release with ‘Tomb,’ also known as ‘the best thing they’ve ever written:’ never before have the group sounded so confident and dominant as this, as they use doom-laden riffs to pummel you to death.

If the band are indeed a pistol from space, you have to hope that ‘Headlocker’ is the bullet they shoot into the stratosphere. These eleven tracks are straining to contain the group’s energy and creativity, so much so that it feels like the record could burst into flames at any moment: for its second half alone, it would be worthy of untold praise. It’s plain and simple, really— Space Pistol knocked it out of the park with this one.

A massive thank you to Space Pistol and to DC Sound Attack for the early review copy.

Space Pistol's 'Headlocker' releases on Friday, September 4th.