I went into End of Days without knowing much about Okay You Win, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. By the time “Smoke” had finished, I was already thinking, “Yeah, these guys know how to write a proper heavy rock song”.
What kept bringing me back throughout the album was Dave Kirk’s voice. There are plenty of chunky riffs and big grooves, but the vocals are what kept sticking in my head afterwards. Every time I thought a song had shown all its cards, another strong chorus would come along and make it even harder to forget.
The album moves around enough to keep things interesting. One minute it’s driving straight ahead, then it eases into something with a bit more space before dropping into a slower, heavier section. I never got the feeling the band were trying to show off or squeeze every influence into the same song. Everything just seemed to fall into place naturally.
I could hear bits of desert rock, some old-school British heavy rock, a touch of grunge and the occasional psychedelic twist, but none of it felt copied from somewhere else. It reminded me why I like this kind of music in the first place. Good riffs, memorable choruses and enough groove to make forty-odd minutes disappear without noticing.
I wasn’t surprised when I found out these songs had already been played live before they were recorded. They don’t sound overworked or polished to death. They sound like songs that have already had time to breathe in front of an audience, and I think that’s a big part of why the album feels so comfortable from start to finish.
If I had one criticism, it’s that a couple of songs follow a similar formula, so the middle of the album isn’t quite as memorable as the beginning or the end. It never became a problem for me, but I did catch myself waiting for the next big chorus once or twice.
By the time “Own It” wrapped everything up, I already knew I’d be coming back to this one. Not because it’s trying to reinvent heavy rock – it isn’t – but because it delivers exactly what I want from this style of music. Big riffs, strong vocals, plenty of melody and the sort of songs that still pop into your head a few hours after you’ve stopped listening. For a debut album, that’s a pretty solid way to introduce yourselves.
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Released by Blues Funeral Recordings on June 26th, 2026
