Well, that didn’t take long. 12 days into 2020 and London’s Chubby and The Gang are about to drop the first great record of the decade with their debut ‘Speed Kills‘.
In fact, for me all it took was one listen to the crowd-rousing anthem ‘All Along the Uxbridge Road‘ with its savage pace, catchy gang vocals and yes, freaking handclaps. It will have you drooling for more like Pavlov’s dog. First wave punk bands like The Damned, Chelsea, and Eater will come to mind but Chubby and The Gang rocks out with the confrontational approach of Fear and early Motörhead. I have a feeling that the fire that burns within Chubby and The Gang is merely sparked by these bands rather than fueled.
Vocalist Chubby Charles (Arms Race, Violent Reaction) and three members of Gutter Knife, though I’m not sure which three, offer up relentless guitars, a wall of bass and drums, Hammond organ, and shouty vocals making this a bar brawl of a record, all spilled pints and smashed chairs and bloody noses. I also love the Beano-esque cover art.
It’s physically exhausting to listen to and when they ask off the top “Chubby and The Gang Rule OK?‘ it’s rhetorical and probably best to nod and jump in the pit. This is an instant classic.
Out now
on Static Shock Records.
