Mark Vennis & Different Place aren’t easing into the new year quietly — they’re marching in with something bold, brash, and unapologetically reflective. Their new album, Goodbye to All That, arrives as a twelve-track statement piece that wrestles with British identity in all its layered, uncomfortable complexity.

Following the teaser singles “Empire Road” and “The Beating of the Drum,” the full record expands the conversation. This isn’t nostalgia dressed up as rock. It’s a sharp, kaleidoscopic exploration of the stories Britain tells itself — the pride in public service, the famed restraint and fairness — set against the harsher realities of empire, division, inequality, and militarism. The band asks difficult questions and lets the tension simmer.

Sonically, the album channels the restless spirit of The Jam and The Kinks, with a raw edge reminiscent of PJ Harvey. There’s grit in the guitars, urgency in the rhythms, and melodies that hook you before you realize how heavy the subject matter really is. It’s punk-rooted but thoughtful, chaotic yet controlled — a sound that mirrors the contradictions it examines.

Literary influences run deep here, too. The title nods to Robert Graves’ World War I memoir, while the mood and themes echo the stark warnings of Orwell’s 1984. The record doesn’t just glance at history — it stares it down, considering the cost of empire on everyday people who never benefited from its spoils. It questions whether the past has truly been left behind, or if its shadow still shapes the present.

Hailing from Petersfield, Hampshire, the band — Mark Vennis, Dave Sweetenham, Sean Quinn, and Brian Gee — have built a reputation since forming in 2009 for high-energy live shows and punchy, melodic chaos. With four albums and an EP already behind them, Goodbye to All That feels like a sonic and thematic maturation. It’s confident. It’s confrontational. It’s timely.