The Chats - ‘GET FUCKED’ Album Review
/REVIEW BY DANNY BUTLER
It is hard to believe it has been five years since The Chats released their debut EP, ‘The Chats’. A short but sweet masterclass in DIY Garage Punk laced with teenage angst, humour, and Australian culture. In 2017, after creating their own record label ‘Bargain Bin’, they released their song ‘SMOKO’ with accompanying low budget video on YouTube, showcasing all the above on a global level drawing the attention of likes of Dave Grohl, Iggy Pop and Josh Homme whilst achieving more than 16 million YouTube views and 20 million Spotify streams. Their debut album ‘High Risk Behaviour’, released in 2020, was certified Gold by ARIA on release peaking at number 5 in the Australian Albums Chart. They even managed to get on Metallica’s ‘The Metallica Blacklist 2021’, a 30th anniversary special edition compilation featuring renditions of ‘Black Album’ songs from artists such as Miley Cyrus and Weezer. Pretty impressive stuff!
As of August 19th 2022, the young punks from Queensland will be back with the release of their second full length album, ‘GET FUCKED’. With that, I can most certainly say that they have not strayed from their style of ‘balls-to-the-wall-matter-fact-no-bullshit’.
Opening with an outright slap in the face, the lead single, ‘6 LTR GTR’ perfectly sets the tone for the album. Musically harkening back to the aggressive style of classic hardcore punk. The likes of ‘Rise Above’ era Black Flag instantly come to mind. The album maintains its fast pace and punch through out the first five tracks, including a 35 second mosh inducing ‘Southport Superman’ ending on a blazing ode to mental health struggles ‘Panic Attack’. After this, the album seems to slow down for a couple of songs, bringing it back to their early Garage sound. One of these songs, ‘The Price of Smokes’, the longest song on the album at 3:42, highlights the cost-of-living crisis that everybody in the world is currently going through, building its intensity until it reaches a crescendo of Eamon Sandwith screaming “THOSE BASTARDS IN PARLIAMENT OUGHTA BE HUNG BY THEIR NECKS”.
The second half of the album matches the teeth gritting intensity of the first, lyrically staying true to their “everyman” image and voice. There’s not much going on musically, but their lyrics are something that all of us can relate to in youth and mid-life. These guys are sick of being surrounded by douchebags and so are we!
Penultimate track ‘Emperor of the Beach’ is my personal highlight of this album, starting off with a mid-paced bouncy three chord roar, with a surf punk surprise that could match the twang and attitude of the mighty Dead Kennedys.
The final track of the album, ‘Getting Better’ is a two-parter that starts somewhat a gentle closer. I can only describe this as straight off a mid-late 70s Ramones album and features a catchy ‘Woo-ing’ sing-along melody. The second half of the song ramps the tempo right up to where we began with a Chuck Berry Rock and Roll style rhythm finishing with a bang!
Overall, the album can be quite repetitive, which can be quite fatiguing. Whilst it’s not the most intellectual, technical, or poetic song writing, the album is an absolute blast. This is exactly where punk needs to be right now. Back to basics and primitive. In a material, capitalist world run by ever growing conservative governments and dominated by technology, The Chats can provide a true voice for the disaffected working class with all their charm. And I wish them all the best and will hope to catch them live again. Rating: 4/5.
