Album review: Phil Thornalley – Stacked

January 25th, 2026 by jason

Facebook [Release date 23.01.26]

Here at GRTR! towers we love the work of Phil Thornalley, be it his solo pop/power rock delights or with Astral Drive, a band whose albums should be in any self-respecting music lover’s collection. On his latest album he takes an affectionate aim at early 2000′s pop punk bands, think the likes of Blink-182, Bowling Four Soup and Fountains of Wayne. He’s joined by vocalist Casey Shea, who has his own impressive musical CV, and is a perfect fit for the songs on this album.

‘Chorus Goes Here’ is the only single to be released off the album and it is a stonking pop punk tune. Lyrically it may bemoan the cookie cutter approach to bands, however, the chorus is so darn catchy and if this was around back in the early ’00s it would have been a shoe-in hit. Same goes for ‘Four Letter Word’, another instant piece of ear candy.

Phil Thornalley’s love of the Beatles makes an appearance on the psychedelic ‘Arnold’, complete with a nifty piece of guitar playing.

‘Sweet Believer Medley’, which bizarrely, yet with great success, mixes the Monkees ‘I am a Believer’ with a touch of Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’. Musical magic right there. The album closes with another cover, ‘Hold Me’, which has been a hit for PJ Proby and BA Roberston amongst others. On Phil’s version he goes full on 60′s wall of sound and the vocals of Casey Shea add a further touch of class.

Other highlights include ‘Summer Looks Good On You’ (not a Cheap Trick cover!), the groovy ‘Girls Are Drugs’ and the gentle ‘It’s You That I Want’.

Will say it again how Phil Thornalley is not a household name (as opposed to his big name co-writes with the likes of Bryan Adams, Pixie Lot and Natalie Imbruglia) is beyond a musical crime. His latest album is packed full of power pop and US flavoured punk pop anthems and is a perfect dose of musical endorphins. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

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