The Cruel Intentions – All Hail Hypocrisy
Release Date: 29th May 2026
Label: Indie Recordings
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Genre: Hard Rock, Sleaze Rock.
FFO: Mötley Crüe, Hardcore Superstar, Guns N’ Roses.
Review By: Paul Franklin
To directly quote their press release Scandinavian rockers The Cruel Intentions are ‘..exactly what you want and fully expect them to be: easy-going, fast-paced modern sleaze with gasoline in their veins and zero regard for the brake pedal.’
All Hail Hypocrisy is their third album, one they claim is harder and faster, with more complexity and substance than on previous albums, but ultimately it is what it is, loud, unapologetic, gloriously sleazy rock ‘n’ roll!
A suitable analogy would be that guy you see at every gig and in every rock bar, the old dude in the corner with the lived-in face and dressed like he’s just got back from an audition for a Dogs D’Amour reunion. You might cast him a pitying look and raise a disparaging eyebrow to a mate, suggesting that you think he’s out of touch and living in the past, before a short while later, after actually spending time with him, realising he’s possibly the coolest motherf***er in the room.
Opening track Beating In My Chest is singer Lizzy DeVine’s love letter to Los Angeles, the city that gave us this genre, an absurdly infectious chorus and a rhythm section that hits with the force of a bar fight. This is sleaze rock exactly as it should be.
This is quickly followed by Living Out Of Line, a punchy, swaggering hard rocker dripping with attitude. The title track leans more into the pop punk side of the band’s DNA with a swinging bassline and catchy as hell gang vocal.
When Eden Burn is pure summer-night sleaze rock. With a shades of Dr Feelgood era Mötley Crüe, this thing practically reeks of gasoline, hairspray and bad decisions.
The adrenaline-fuelled riff-fests continue with the likes of Triple Threat, Pseudo Genius and Bad Addition all showcasing the band’s impressive musical chops. Whilst, Watcha Gonna Do is a glorious nod to ‘80s melodic hard rock with twin guitar flourishes and a chorus built for raised fists.
They slow things down a little on the mid-tempo Porridge Head, and even more so for Wasteland, a rare acoustic ballad that strips away the booze-soaked swagger and reveals something raw underneath. Lizzy gives one of his strongest vocal performances, still with that trademark sneer, but delivering lyrics that feel bruised rather than theatrical. Case in point…“When everything is burning, Everybody’s hurting, and somehow it’s fucking all about you”
The Cruel Intentions may not be reinventing the wheel, but what they are doing is bolting it to the front end of a flame red Mustang and booting it down a neon lit Sunset Strip.
(4 / 5)
