Hell Beach – Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

During a school trip to Wales (way back in the early 00s), thanks to a communal CD player and a single CD, Sum 41‘s All Killer No Filler became the unofficial soundtrack of the entire trip. It had a certain vibe that was absolutely perfect for the dreary, rain-soaked activity holiday. I haven’t really felt that vibe since then, until I heard Hell Beach‘s new album, Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

Labelled as a rock ‘n’ roll, power pop, punk rock band, Hell Beach are holding nothing back with this album. From first impressions, Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is an intense, fast-paced and lively record that I feel captures that happy-go-lucky feeling from 2000s-2010s pop-punk. It’s unapologetically in-your-face, and I love it.

Following up their 2024 debut, BEACHWORLD, this album is a little darker, with lyrics that focus on heartbreak, life changes, and the increasing dread of modern life. All of which is painted in the colour of rock ‘n’ roll/punk infused power-pop that, at times, feels like everything’s gonna be okay.

Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, for me, captures that polished-but-still-a-little-raw sound of early pop-punk from the likes of Green Day, Sum 41 and Descendents, without it sounding forced. There’s a sense of familiarity here that I find comforting. From the opening track, Snakeskin, to the final track, Clear, you’ll find yourself bouncing up and down at the band’s organised chaos of punky riffs and anthemic choruses.

The high-energy pummeling of punky riffs and the overall attitude of this band certainly captures their live performances, though occasionally the vivacious instrumentation from track to track feels like it blends into one, with Clear being the only track on the album that takes a slightly different pace from the other 11 tracks. It’s a great album ender, for sure, but could have also worked well to break up the album’s raucousness.

Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea has clear influences of both early punk rock and more modern pop-punk, especially in the songwriting. It’s a great mix of fast-paced punky rhythms mixed with rock ‘n’ roll solos and lead riffs that all bounce along with the pop-punk drum beats.

My only real criticism of this album is that it goes by in a flash at a little over 30 minutes, and as previously mentioned, there’s only a slight variance from track to track. With the majority of them coming in at an average of about two and a half minutes, they can almost blend into one another, which makes for great listening, but also means it’s hard to pick out a song that really stands out.