It’s here! The debut record by The Chats- one of Australia’s finest bands. These three wonderful ratbags are back with 14 songs to get you in the mood to self-isolate. Well, what else is there to do! Doom and gloom aside, The Chats are just a brilliant band. If you love bands like Skegss and Amyl and The Sniffers then you’re probably already onto The Chats, and you’re probably excited for this record.
The Chats are that band that keep appearing at your local pub; part of the furniture and no one dares tell them to go home. Why would you? They’re everything you want from a rowdy band, and they just make you want to hang out with them and get into mischief. I love how their songs just are declarations of impish behaviour. Ignore the song The Clap- you probably don’t want to behave in that way, but as far as songs that find humour in an STD this one is pretty great. They’re owning it, and fair play to them. The humour in the lyrics and the way they just share their life with us is so cool, and they aren’t afraid to let us in on their mishaps and fuckups.

They make songs that are just destined to be chanted right back at them, and you can imagine Josh crowd surfing as the fans go mental to Identity Theft and shout the words as loud as possible. Maybe this will happen on their tour later in the year, if the universe allows us to leave our homes again for fun! I just bloody love this band and their carefree attitude. Aside from that though, they are really great musicians. They just keep getting better and better, and the production on High Risk Behaviour is really tight too.
Their two Eps showed us exactly how great they are, and how on earth does it come across on a full-length record? Well, we can call this as one of if not THE most energetic records of the year. They pick up nicely where Get This In Ya!! left off, and these songs are proper rippers. They make you want to just trash shit, skate around or just get up to no good. Dine n Dash is a great song about being too broke to eat, so you get your fill then fuck off without paying. It’s one of my favourites off the record, but it’s just a non-stop party record. The songs are made for you to just let loose and forget your troubles and find humour in what’s getting to you. They talk about being broke and doing nothing, and not really letting it get to them. Their laid-back style is what really makes you connect with the songs.
Eamon’s vocals just hooks you right in, and you want to copy his style as you chant the words back. Then you mix this with Matt’s INSANE drumming and Josh’s guitar, and also Eamon’s bass well, then you’ve just got top musicians who really love what they’re doing. Ross River is a great tale, and you picture yourself right there with Eamon as he describes what’s going on. Pub Feed is a great example of this too and how they are just craving some good, wholesome pub food. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
The songs don’t even hit the 3 minute mark, but don’t let that deter you in any way. The songs were made to be played loud and on a loop. They have this wicked energy that just makes you move and flail those limbs about. I love how freeing their sound is, and again, the carefree attitude. It’s like, “everything is shit but don’t worry about it.” Sometimes you just need to hear that, or in a roundabout way you know? Just so you don’t feel so down and out about what’s going on in your head. It’s so easy to worry and assume the worst, but with The Chats they’ll give you the brutal truth but put their own twist on it that makes you feel lighter.
There are some exceptional bands in Australia, and some really great Punk bands. The Chats are a band that I’ve seen a lot of people make reference to when talking about new and exciting bands, and it’s so easy to see why. I mean, this is their debut full length record and it sounds like something from a band who are well into their career. The energy they have on record is poured right into their live shows too. It’s like all this pent-up energy is released how they need it to be in their live shows, and on record it is just a taste of this energy. They are such an easy band to love and become obsessed with; High Risk Behaviour is a remarkable record, and I love how they have a distinctive sound but no part of you gets tired of it at all. Songs like Do What I Want are just so rebellious and mischievous, they just make you want to hang out with them and get into trouble. It’s pretty clear that The Chats will be a band that kids listen to, and are influenced by to start their own band and it is such a great thing!

High Risk Behaviour is such a great record, and it was definitely worth the wait. The two EPs they gave us were just a little taste of what was to come, and now we have it you’d be hard-pressed to let go of that excitement. With any luck, I’ll get to see them in October. I can’t wait to see how this all comes alive in a live setting. I think this is how people felt when the Ramones first got peoples attention. These 14 songs are made for wasting your days away to, go out for a walk and play this record in your ears and let every annoyance you have slip away.
High Risk Behaviour is out right now via Bargain Bin Records.