Barely six weeks after the release of ‘Come Morning’, Scotland’s Silver Dollar Room have returned with the immensely powerful ‘Monsters’, a riff heavy number that really shows off their alt-rock sound in the most direct way possible.

The track’s opening rhythm guitar salvo calls back to 90s emo with strong echoes of Shift within the tone. This catches the ear with immediate effect, suggesting that this could be one of the band’s biggest sounding tunes to date. From there, though, ‘Monsters’ grows into something huge; a tune that moves between a few very distinctly different musical passages, eventually peaking with an epic instrumental break, showcasing the band’s heaviest sounds to date.

Throughout the first verse, occasional power chords bristle against a huge, rhythmic drum part (courtesy of Douglas McDonald), presenting a very different 90s sound with elements of post grunge bristling against a world of melodic rock elements. This gives vocalist John Keenan plenty to work with, but it’s when hitting the chorus that this recently formed new line up of SDR really springs into life. The dual guitars (provided by mainstay Jamie Turnbull, and new arrival Jennifer Bain) drive a great riff, and despite only sharing a simple hook, Keenan’s voice sounds great when reaching for full cry.

Listening a little more closely, ‘Monsters’ is elevated way beyond being a rocky throwback, thanks to Jennifer’s fantastic ringing guitar tones on a couple of strong bridge sections, and the aforementioned instrumental break makes a great feature of a more downtuned approach where a riff that falls somewhere between the heavy end of early Smashing Pumpkins and ‘Black Album’ era Metallica is augmented by a very natural but rather forceful lead guitar break.

Perhaps most importantly, ‘Monsters’ gives the Silver Dollar Room audience something far beyond feel good rock fare by choosing to share a harrowing and pointed lyric inspired by a true life child abuse case. The band have always been known for their sophisticated lyrical approach with songs tackling various social topics (depression and anxiety are common touchstones within their early work), but this is arguably the first time their social commentary has ventured anywhere so bleak. It’s not handled in a way that would feel off-putting, however; the intent here is never to deliver something with easy shock value.

While it certainly should be argued that the chosen topic isn’t about entertainment in its truest sense, the whole package here is superb. ‘Monsters’ may be harsh, but it takes the Scottish band to the next level. The ‘Gilded Echoes’ album was impressive, but this single is definitely a very strong indication that the band’s next phase will bring something even greater.