THE CHATS, AUSSIE PUNKSTERS AT THE LEADMILL SHEFFIELD UK, 10 JULY 2022

 

 

The Chats are a punk rock band from the sunshine coast, Queensland, Australia. They formed in 2016 AND band members are Matt Bogiss on drums, bassist and vocals Eamon Sandwith, and Josh Hardy on guitar.  they write songs are about Australian Culture, and  musically they describe themselves as shed rock The bands state their music influences as Australian bands ‘Cosmic Psycho’s’ and ‘Dune Rats’.  there song Smoko went went viral in 2017,and since then they have released two eps  ‘The Chats’, in 2016, and ‘Get This In Ya’ in 2017 and a studio album ‘Hight Risk Behaviour’ in 2020. they are currently signed to Universal Music Publishing Australia, and funded there own label ‘Bargain Bin Record’.  the band have received critical acclaim from artist such as Dave Grohl, Iggy pop and Alex Turner.

 

It was a sweltering hot Sunday evening as music fans gathered outside the Leadmill in Sheffield, (Help Save The Leadmill – Please sign the  official E-Petition HERE) waiting  see the Australian punk rock band. it was a sell out  and the fans were a a mixed bunch of young and old and there was a buzz in the air as people chatted away excitingly 

 

The band came on stage around 8.30 and  played there way through a set of 27 songs, opening with one of my favourites “Nambored”  about a small town where nothing exiting happens, and its a …. hole..  lead singer Sandwith belting out the catchy chorus line “Nambored I Cant Take Anymore”  backed by a nice chunky bass line and a rock and roll guitar riff reminiscent of  1960s garage rock.   The song “Stinker” was another track that stood out as another piece of classic  punk rock but with of the mid 1970s punk vibe with Hardy’s dirty guitar blowing the roof off, the song is about the Australian heat, with the brilliant line ” I Got 24 Beers And A Couple Of Mates, Its The Weekend And I’m Getting Off My Face”. 

 

Other stand out songs on the night were “6L GTR” and their anthem “Smoko”.  “Smoko” is a term used to describe someone smoking weed and having time out.  

 

The Chats rocked the Leadmill and  audience loved it, they don’t really seem to interact with the audience except for introducing the songs, which i really liked, but i also felt some of those chorus were built to sing along to and with a little bit of encouragement they could have had the venue singing along with them.  If i had one minor complaint it would be that i felt the band was very static for a PUNK band and they play music that was written to go off to and they should have led from the front.  But overall i really enjoyed it, and it will be keeping a close eye out to see how they develop in the future.  

 

So with all that said,The Chats aren’t re inventing the punk wheel here,  but they are very catchy and sound good live. If Punk music is your thing then The Chats are a band you need to check out.