The Unsuited’s Eponymous Post-Hiatus Debut is What Rock Veterans Kicking Down the Doors and Reclaiming the Airwaves Should Sound Like –

Stone Roses-esque basslines, the arcane darkness of Sisters of Mercy reverberating through the harbingering vocals, the cutting angular guitars of Arcade Fire, and renegade-level overdriven amplification root Unsuited firmly in the pantheon of prodigal sons of rock. The eponymous comeback single from The Unsuited spellbinds the way post-punk-leaning rock only can, giving guitar music back its former serrated conviction.

Through anthemic choruses that give full permission to unapologetically relinquish yourself into 80s rock nostalgia, Unsuited carries the visceral power of Alice Cooper’s Poison while giving the legacy of eclectic indie styles a chance to thrive on the airwaves once more. The riffs swell and lift with stage-tested authority, the hooks are razor-sharp, and the whole release feels engineered by musicians who understand sweat, setbacks, and studios.

With Iain Stew Brownlie, Howard Moth, Stu Englefield, Jo Line, and Tim Dorney, whose Republica and Flowered Up history brings serious pedigree and a sense of swagger that can be assimilated but rarely authentically alchemised by bands only arriving on the scene today. The five-piece of 50-year-old spits in the face of ageism in music and the way the industry has so eagerly, with its capitalistic hunger, devoured AI music.

In all honesty, I rarely think AI could fail so completely at replication, yet it has no chance at mimicking anything in the authentically ingenious, evocatively hard-wired signature of The Unsuited.

Unsuited is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast