From runways to TikTok trends, 2025 can’t get enough of Y2K aesthetics. And now Split Chain have delivered the soundtrack to match. So, if you spent the early 2000s listening to Deftones and scrawling DIY mixtape covers (or wish you had been), Split Chain’s motionblur is your new fix.
Over a series of singles released since 2023, this Bristol five-piece have stitched together a unique combo of modern nu metal and shoegaze, shot through with hardcore attitude. motionblur was the test to see if Split Chain could keep it up over a full-length release; and they more than stepped up to the challenge.
Even though, most fans will be listening to the album through streaming, you still get the feel of physical media – the click of a CD player and the spin of a disc are the first sounds of the record, before opener ‘Under The Wire’ kicks off with darkly distorted riffs.
Second song ‘Bored.tired.torn’ sees Split Chain settle into their stride with a moody track tackling family conflict that leans heavily into the band’s angstier emo inspirations. Songs like this one and the infectious ‘who am I?’ show they’ve got a knack for catchier anthemic tracks as well as the more atmospheric moments.
Split Chain’s grungy take on nu-metal is undoubtedly heavy – the distorted, chugging guitars and driving drums deliver a rock-solid foundation for singer Bert Martinez-Cowles’ hazy vocals. But there’s a lightness to it, a dreamlike weightlessness. The layered shoegaze textures add an almost restrained feel to the album, which lets the properly vicious moments really pack a punch.
As you get to the halfway point, there’s another click of a tape machine – we’re now on side two and it’s got one hell of an opening. It’s no surprise ‘SPIT’ got the all-caps treatment on the tracklist. It’s a razor-sharp hardcore-edged track that should go down well with fans of Static Dress and Loathe.
With heavy albums, you know there’s only ever two ways to close them out. Either go balls to the wall and end on a crushing finale that demands pyro and encores, or use it as a moment to pull back and reflect. Split Chain choose both. ‘my mistake…’ starts off wistful and stripped-back, with just vocals and some slightly unnerving guitar chords, but builds to a huge, soaring peak.
From beginning to end, Split Chain deliver a sound that is cohesive and consistent, but without feeling repetitive. It’s a level of maturity, and certainty, in the band’s identity that’s frankly impressive for a debut release. All in all, this band are absolutely one to watch.