The Chats - New Album Review & Gig Thoughts
On the 17th of September, I got to see The Chats play at the Fortitude Music Hall. Below I will discuss this gig and the new album theirs, Get Fucked.
Album Tour
The openers for this show were fantastic choices. Local act Full Flower Moon Band stepped in when The Prizes, had flight issues. I had seen this band earlier this year with Party Dozen. They have such a vibe when they play. The strength of the lead vocalist’s performance can’t be overstated. Her harmoniser pedal enhancing an apathetic Karen O delivery. I had listened to their releases a few times since, and so knew their work a little better when hearing them this time. Classic rock with an indie veneer. Awesome. Mean Jeans are a punk trio from the USA that really brought the energy. Thrashy, trashy and succinct; is how I would sum them up. With many short offerings (mostly single ideas as anthems) ranging in theme from Sizzler, slime, Jeigermeister and even a Today Today Smashing Pumpkins cover, the band was fun and pumped the room up for the main act.
The Chats played for almost 2 hours. In that time, they played pretty much every one of their songs. This is due to the speed and shortened length of every track, to keep the energy up. They opened with the classic backpacking music The Angels Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again to get the crowd to chant the iconic Australian response. With the album title plastered on the back wall, the stage was set for a massive show. They kept the crowd engaged with enough energy that didn’t get too rowdy. As it was an all ages gig, it was nice they did a safety warning to people moshing not to be dick heads. I loved seeing the varied crowd that comes to a gig like that. It was great to see that they could turn on the performance persona when they played. The trio jumped and left around like hooligans, but kept enough space to engage the large venue size. I can’t help but think their energy would have been better in a smaller venue like Ricks Bar. They squeezed in covers of The Wiggles Point Your Finger and Twist earlier, and Kiss Rock and Roll All Nite as the encore. Overall, a fun night that makes me want to see them again! Hopefully next time they do VB Anthem.
Get Fucked - The Chats (2022)
This is the sophomore album from Australian punk outfit, The Chats. This tongue in cheek offering explores much of the same themes of past works, but with different flavours; disregard of authority, anger, self love and Australian culture/customs. I love the short length of this album, that still manages to cram on 13 simple tracks. The song ideas do not stick around too long as they are all similar in instrumentation and structure. There is yelling, thumping bass, squealing guitars and thrashing drums. What more could you want from a punk record that doesn’t take itself too seriously? The production is a little cleaner on this album, but not in a way that is inauthentic to the genre type.
Top Tracks:
6L GTR
I love this as the opener. The vocal chanting, the easy to follow story. It sets the tone sonically also, using space and loud blocks of noise to assert the theme of the rest of the album. The little guitar solo at the end is nice, with a few textural changes in the structure to keep it interesting.
The Price of Smokes
Written from the lead singer’s time working at Coles, this is a great Australian anthem in my opinion. It sets a story that many have faced, with conversations we have all heard around the pub. The end of the song breaks out into the anti-authority call to action that is equal parts truth and satire.
I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane
A local track of legendary status. The driving, breakneck speed shows off the story as much as it needs. It’s a list of accomplishments and a sad tale all wrapped into one. The end section is fun!
