Later tonight I am excited to listen to my two newest musical acquisitions – new releases from the quietly graceful Anna Tivel and the pensive majesty of Ezra Furman. This next record is decidedly unlike those records.
Disc 1746 is…High Risk Behaviour
Artist: The Chats
Year of Release: 2020
What’s up with the Cover? From last review’s stylish art piece by KMFDM we come this week to a drawing that is more…rudimentary. If you want to know what Eamon, Matt and “Pricey” (guitarist Josh Price) look like, this is it…very basically.
How I Came To Know It: I got to know the band originally through my friend Nick discovering them on Youtube. This was me buying their first full length LP after searching them out.
How It Stacks Up: If you count the compilation of their first two EPs as one record (which I do), I have three albums by the Chats. When I reviewed “Get Fucked” I put it #1 but warned that it might drop when I reviewed their other records. This has now happened, with “High Risk Behaviour” taking over at #1. As this completes my Chats collection (for now) here’s the full accounting:
- High Risk Behaviour: 5 stars (reviewed right here)
- Get Fucked: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1619)
- The First Two EPs by the Chats: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1730)
“Smoko” was the song that introduced me to the Chats, but it was “High Risk Behaviour” that showed me they were far more than a one hit Youtube phenomenon. This record is 14 songs, 27 minutes, and every moment grabs you by the front of your shirt and shakes you. My only regret was that it was over too soon each time.
This is pure punk rock and like most good punk bands (in my opinion) they are sneaky good musicians. Josh Price plays guitar with an enthusiastic garage rock style that tastes to the ear a bit of how a can of cheap bear tastes to the tongue: refreshing and vaguely metallic. This is the last album to feature Price (he is not on 2022’s “Get Fucked”) and while the band is still awesome in a different way, I do love what he brings to the sound on this record.
The punk vibes come on strong from drummer Matt Boggis and particularly from vocals/bassist Eamon Sandwith. Sandwith’s bass is great, but his vocals are what elevates the band to greatness. He sings with a strong Australian accent, and a natural snarl that would give Johnny Rotten a run for his money. Also, these songs are better than Sex Pistols songs, adding to his advantage. Sandwith is the voice of a generation of degenerates, and pub-crawling alcoholics. It isn’t a healthy approach for actual living, but it makes for great rock and roll.
The record’s topics are generally focused around the usual Chats fare of getting hammered, and being broke, but with a strangely specific focus on food. On “Dine n Dash” Sandwith laments:
“I wanna go out and
fill my gob
But I don’t have a
fucking job”
Solution? Flee the restaurant without paying. You’d think one song about drinking and eating at the pub would be enough, but no. “Pub Feed” is about the glorious feeling of cramming greasy late-night food in your ‘gob’ after too many pints earlier on. We know from “Dine n Dash” this won’t end up costing anything. Maybe a night in jail if the bouncer is fleet-of-foot.
The cost comes on “Keep the Grubs Out” a song about being barred from the pub. I once had an uncle barred permanently from a pub and it is amazing when the waitstaff can remember someone for the wrong reasons that many years later. The eventually relented and let my uncle in, but the Chats were not so lucky, as they are advised:
“We appreciate your
understanding sir
Feel free to come back when you get a haircut”
Sounds like one of them fancy places, so not likely where our heroes were going to have the best time anyway. With that haircut comment, I’d likely be turned away as well.
Other standouts on the record include “Stinker” and “Drunk n Disorderly” both of which are along the same lines regarding drinking too much, but minus the food.
“The Clap” features enthusiastic hand claps, but it isn’t the kind of clap that the song is about. More of the doctor visit/take antibiotics variety.
Near the end of the record the Chats give us a signature moment with “Do What I Want”. One of the more melodic songs on the record, the song’s refrain is “Don’t tell me what to do!” which is a good summary of how the Chats approach music. They channel old school punk but they do it in their own unique way, and offer no apologies while doing so. Keep doing it exactly the way you want, Chats - it’s working.
Best tracks: All of them. Particularly strong love for: Stinker, Drunk N Disorderly, The Clap, Identity Theft, Keep the Grubs Out, Pub Feed, Do What I Want
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