They may have called their latest album All Washed Up, but 48 years since they released their self-titled debut, Cheap Trick are the latest in a long line of veteran rockers who show no signs of flagging whatsoever. Four years since In Another World was released, the 21st album by a band who have rarely put a foot wrong demonstrates once again that class is permanent.
Cheap Trick – All Washed Up
Release Date: 14 November 2025
Words: Paul Hutchings
Where do you start with a band that are Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famers who have toured the world and played over 5,000 shows, and who possess musicians of the highest quality?
Well, how about starting with the youngster of the band, one Robin Zander, who at an evergreen 72 years of age gives a vocal performance as good as anything he has done across the band’s entire catalogue. 
One thing that’s always been great about Cheap Trick is their skill at delivering catchy tunes that stick in the memory for days. It is no different here with the songs becoming instant earworms. The title track kicks in from the opening bars, The Riff That Won’t Quit sees the band channel their inner AC/DC before the brooding Bet It All provides a slightly moodier take.
Cheap Trick are also kings of the rock ballad, and they prove that they can lash on the saccharine in spades with The Best Thing. I will admit that this is not my bag, but if you do like a burst of sentimentality for that mix tape, this is ideal.
Harmonies galore drench the songs here, another feature of the band’s music since day one. It may appear rather one-dimensional at times, but a good song is a good song, and Cheap Trick are masters.
Take first single Twelve Gates. On first listen, there is nothing that thrilling about it. But peel those layers back and you get a song that oozes creativity, perfect pop-rock crafting and an ability to provide a soaring uplift.
They can do anthems as well as anyone. Bad Blood twangs along, a hands-in-the-air singalong that you can already hear being played live.
Zander’s interplay with Rick Nielsen’s always cleverly glorious guitar work and Tom Petterson’s rock steady bass, all of this anchored by Rick’s son Daxx, who has been a mainstay of their touring band for over a decade and who has also delivered drums for the past few albums.
And when they want to rock out, they do it in style. Bad Blood shows their quality, whilst Rocking With The Band, Dancing With The Band stomps and twists in true Cheap Trick at their best.
They do not overstay their welcome. Eleven tracks delivered in 40 minutes allow them to squeeze in some of those shorter songs, such as the sub-three-minute Love Gone, which allows Zander to open the pipes.
In contrast, he brings a different yet no less pleasing delivery to A Long Way To Worcester, where the band echo the Beatles, as one would always expect. It is here that Nielsen opens some sweet flashes of real guitar hero stuff. It is a gorgeously rich song, warming and grandiose. 
There is always a touch of humour, and Cheap Trick throw it in with the final song, the serenade of Wham Boom Bang, a song that is far removed from the others, but still features some lovely guitar work as well as Zander in great form.
It is a sweet end to an album that is so enjoyable the only thing you can do when you have listened to it is play it again. An incredible release for a band who are still producing the goods, 52 years after their formation.
Arriving via BMG on Friday, 14 November 2025, All Washed Up will be available digitally as well as on standard black vinyl and CD, and as a limited-edition exclusive Orange Marble LP variant of the album, limited to 1,000 units, available to pre-order via the band’s new D2C store.
