The Prize - In The Red (2025) Hi-Res

It’s here! It’s finally here! Even with the flood of stellar power pop releases in recent years, I can’t think of a debut full-length I’ve been anticipating more than In The Red by The Prize. The Melbourne five-piece teased us with their 2022 debut 7″ Wrong Side of Town, the follow-up First Sight, and their 2024 split with The Unknowns. Rather than rushing, they took their time to get this one right—and you can hear that patience paying off.

The Prize’s triple-guitar setup is a weapon, not a gimmick. Instead of blending into a blur, the interplay feels like a friendly competition, each guitarist throwing down lines too good to cut, resulting in skyscrapers of riffs stacked beneath soaring hooks. Sure, this is power pop, but In The Red also veers confidently into hook-heavy hard rock and classic rock territory—this is power pop for Thin Lizzy devotees.

The dynamic of drummer Nadine Muller sharing lead vocals with guitarist Carey Paterson adds range and spark, while the gang vocals remain intact. From the Night recalls the glammy punch of later Donnas, Don’t Need Em piles up guitar parts until you want to drop to your knees and declare “we’re not worthy!”, and other tracks split the difference between The Nerves’ stripped-down snap and Cheap Trick’s arena-sized flair. The whole record brims with moments that make you crank the volume, bang your head, punch the air or flail along with imaginary instruments.

Patience paid off, and in the meantime The Prize weren’t exactly idle—touring relentlessly and releasing top-shelf side projects via The States and Loose Lips. But In The Red is the main event, and it’s a knockout.