Handgrenade Hearts - Pull The Pin (2026) Hi-Res

When a band calls itself Handgrenade Hearts, names its debut album Pull The Pin, and puts the title in giant pink letters next to heart-shaped hand grenades, what does your brain immediately expect?

Ding ding ding! If you guessed glam-punk rock ‘n’ roll, give yourself a prize.

Pull The Pin delivers exactly that, and then some. You may remember Handgrenade Hearts from last December’s excellent So Fresh compilation. With sixty five (!) bands on that release, it’s understandable if they slipped past you, but their contribution Generation appears here as well and still sounds like a lost classic someone forgot to tell us about. In fact, I had to double-check whether Handgrenade Hearts were really a 2026 band. They look like they should still be getting asked for ID at venues.

All twelve songs are original compositions recorded this year in their hometown of Melbourne, which for a while now has been the answer to every question that starts with “where are all these great underground bands coming from?”

Generation is far from the only instant earworm. Cold Heart has a chorus that feels familiar in the best possible way (“You have a cold, cold heart / Yes, you do”), while Handgrenade Hearts itself works as the band’s own mission statement disguised as a singalong anthem. Then there are the gloriously punked-up rushes of I Feel Alright and Confusion, which hit with the kind of sleazy energy that makes you want to knock over a drink and start a band.

I’ve been banging on about the current rock ‘n’ roll renaissance all year, and Handgrenade Hearts have arrived to claim the glam-stained, leather-jacketed corner of it. Good times!