Australian punks The Chats announce their debut album, High Risk Behaviour, out March 27th on Bargain Bin Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia, and a North American tour. In conjunction with today’s announcement, they present a video for lead single, “The Clap.” High Risk Behaviour buzzes like an out-of-control chainsaw, propelled by spoken-spit-sung vocals, their three-chords-is-one-too-many approach, and an exacting combination of youth, vigour and drunkenness. It’s a perfect name for an album that does not f*ck around – one that’s over in 28 blistering, funny, sweaty, unforgettable minutes.
The Chats – made of Eamon Sandwith, Matt Boggis, and Josh Price – formed in 2016 while still in high school. Since then, they’ve released a self-titled EP in 2016 and 2017’s Get This In Ya EP, and have accrued a fanbase that includes Dave Grohl, Queen of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, and Iggy Pop – the latter two who asked the band to open on their respective Australian tours. And despite being the subject of a record label bidding war, they’re releasing High Risk Behaviour on their own label (Bargain Bin Records). It’s indicative of a band that has embraced DIY culture since day one. Their determination to do things “our way” extends to their music, which is why High Risk Behaviour delivers everything you’ve come to love from The Chats – only more of it – and confirms their status as Queensland’s greatest ever export.
To create High Risk Behaviour, the band worked with engineer Bill Gardner in his studio on the Australian coast. It took nearly 18 months to finish and several, quick-paced sessions. “If we’d just done a week and slogged it out we could have had an album before now but we just kept going in there and making newer and better songs so it’s hard to put a stop on it,” says Sandwith.
Its lyrics are drawn from everyday experiences; from paying attention to the kind of stuff so banal that the rest of us don’t even notice it. Such as its lead single, “The Clap,” sung by Sandwith and Price, which is both a cautionary tale and the closest you’ll ever hear The Chats get to write a love song. Its accompanying video was directed by Matt Weston and features the band.
“I just want people to have a good time,” says Sandwith. “I want them to dance around and have a beer and enjoy it. We don’t make songs for people to look at in a fucking emotional or intellectual way. We just make songs for people to jump around and have fun to.”
In support of High Risk Behaviour, The Chats will embark on a North American tour later this spring. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale Friday, January 24th at 10am local time.
Photo Credit: Luke Henery
HIGH RISK BEHAVIOUR TRACKLIST:
1. Stinker
2. Drunk N Disorderly
3. The Clap
4. Identity Theft
5. Guns
6. Dine N Dash
7. Keep The Grubs Out
8. Pub Feed
9. Ross River
10. Heatstroke
11. Bill Backwash’s Day
12. 4573
13. Do What I Want
14. Better Than You
THE CHATS TOUR DATES:
Fri. April 10 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Sat. April 11 – Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre *
Sun. April 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
Mon. April 13 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Tue. April 14 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon *
Fri. April 17 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Sat. April 18 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park *
Sun. April 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
Mon. April 20 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
Wed. April 22 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues *
Thu. April 23 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s *
Fri. April 24 – Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock at House of Blues *
Sun. April 26 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre *
Tue. April 28 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall *
Wed. April 29 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues *
Thu. April 30 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In *
Fri. May 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre *
Sat. May 2 – Charlotte, NC @ Epicenter Festival
Sun. May 3 – Washington, DC @ The Fillmore Silver Spring *
Tue. May 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts *
Wed. May 6 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
Thu. May 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw *
Wed. Oct. 7 – Amsterdam, BL @ Melkweg Max
Sat. Oct. 10 – Paris, FR @ Maroquinerie
Sun. Oct. 11 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria
Mon. Oct. 12 – Hamburg, DE @ Gruenspan
Tue. Oct. 13 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Fri. Oct. 16 – Southampton, UK @ 1865
Sat. Oct. 17 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Mon. Oct. 19 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
Tue. Oct. 20 – Belfast, UK @ Limelight
Thu. Oct. 22 – Glasgow, UK @ Galvanizers
Fri. Oct. 23 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Academy
Sat. Oct. 24 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
Sun. Oct. 25 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
Mon. Oct. 26 – Brighton, UK @ Dome
Tue. Oct. 27 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
Wed. Oct. 28 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
Thu. Oct 29 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
* = w/ Mean Jeans & Thick
