Originally formed in Orlando, Florida but now based in Nashville, Tennessee, Cinema Stereo are a band who’ve built their reputation through an energetic live show. The stage is an environment where the men are separated from the boys, the shakers from the fakers, and it’s a trial by fire from which the band have emerged unscathed. However, it means that their album comes laden with expectation, but if the three beings comprising Cinema Stereo are feeling the pressure it doesn’t show because they’ve produced an album in 12:34 that bottles their live experience, serving up a dozen tracks that render the band a major contemporary force.

As befitting a debut album, Cinema Stereo don’t waste time on fancy introductions or elongated preambles, preferring to get straight down to business with opening track ‘Flood’. The band appear with little warning, just a jagged, angular riff that kicks through the speaker grill like a size 10 boot and when the rest of the band kick in, things really go into overdrive. As with many bands who operate with reduced numbers, Cinema Stereo are a band who deliver a sound that is far bigger than their constituent parts; aided by a warm, treacly production, the band are full and lustrous, but not to the point of overkill. They don’t feel the need to scrawl their sound on every surface, yet it’s also multilayered and is the type of record that will reward repeat plays as subtle nuances buried deep in the mix reveal themselves on successive spins.

Cinema Stereo cite bands such as Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and Queen as influences and their own tunes seem set to become teen anthems in much the same way as the songs their heroes wrote. Case in point being ‘Over The Edge’, a song that could have come straight from the soundtrack of the 1979 cult film Over The Edge (a score which, incidentally, contained lashings of Cheap Trick) and is sure to accompany many a wild evening. Whilst Cinema Stereo paint their sound from a wide palette, employing both bold splashes of colour and subtle pastel shades, they never lose sight of song structure and melody, meaning that while ‘Expectations’ stomps like an angry Golem, it’s also highly contagious and you’ll find yourself humming its refrain at the most unexpected moments.

Not a concept album per se, 12:34 flows like one nevertheless, and while it is feasible to dip in and out and enjoy the songs individually (indeed, several singles have been culled from the track list), it’s best consumed like an old school album (i.e., in one sitting) to fully appreciate its push and pull, ebb and flow. Even within individual songs there are wheels turning; and ‘All I Want’ oscillates between a discombobulated reggae riff and an Iron Maiden style gallop, which may sound like a strange mix, but a fusion Cinema Stereo make seamless.

The vast and cinematic ‘Proxima’ brings the album to an unforgettable conclusion, ensuring it’ll haunt you like a friendly spectre long after the disc has stopped spinning. It’s a nice problem to have, but Cinema Stereo have set the bar incredibly high for the rest of their career, but for now, enjoy the sound of 12:34.

• 12:34 is released on 2nd October 2026 (available here).
• Cinema Stereo Official Website

Track List:

1. Flood
2. Over The Edge
3. Now We Feel Special
4. A Moment
5. 12:34
6. Expectations
7. Ride To The Sun
8. Flowers
9. Lean On You
10. All I Want
11. Tears
12. Proxima