Chubby and the Gang - The Mutt’s Nuts

You know the score by now: aggressive rock band releases first album packed to the rafters with direct power-pop anthems, before dialing things down for a second effort which is a more restrained effort to make headway into the mainstream.

While it would be a tall order to expect London punks Chubby And The Gang to, a) give a damn about the mainstream, or b) even consider dialing things down, they’ve clearly given the idea some consideration. Whilst diversifying their sound a bit, they’ve added yet more aggression, power and pace; for those familiar with last year’s Speed Kills this will sound unlikely, but it’s true.

Their punk hardcore sound has lengthened, rather than broadened. On their debut, no song clocked in over three minutes, whereas here they’re almost indulgent by comparison, yet it just mainly shows that their stamina has improved.

The first six tracks are an unfiltered onslaught; the title-track, which opens the album, features the band referring to themselves in the lyrics and announcing their return. It succinctly captures the freneticism of early Green Day uncannily and, were it not for the London accent at the end thanking us, they could be mistaken for the Californian trio.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2021/08/review-chubby-and-the-gang-mutts/