The Chats are having a wild year, that’s safe to say. From their humble ‘Smoko’ beginnings and the ‘Pub Feed’ effect, to attracting some serious star power at recent sold out American shows, the Sunshine Coast three-piece are setting their sights on further Aussie domination, with a huge run of shows announced to back a new single in ‘Identity Theft’.
Formed in their mate’s bong shed in Coolum, Queensland 2016 when all three members were seventeen, The Chats represent everything that’s good about Australia and nothing that’s bad: a rebel spirit, gallows humour and the endless hedonistic pursuit of A Bloody Good Time. Cold stubbies within close reach, 24-7.
The trio met in music class while at St Theresa’s Catholic College in Noosaville, a suburb of Noosa, Queensland, two hours north of Brisbane, and began practicing in the shed in nearby Verrierdale (pop: 775) during their final year of education (the school’s website notes “Whilst their music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they have certainly made an impact, and they continue to Dare the Dream.”). Their name meanwhile comes from the nearby suburb of Chatswood.
Drawing influence from the same fertile Australian pub rock scene that spawned everyone from AC/DC and The Saints to Cosmic Psychos and The Hard Ons, and sharing a similar singular self-contained approach to their art as such latter-day Aussie rock heroes as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, The Chats describe themselves as “dropkick drongos from the Sunshine Coast of Australia”.
The band’s new single remains in the same rollicking ballpark as previous releases; The Chats keeping their own strain of humour very much intact, especially with the retro-styled video.
The Chats – On tour – Europe Aug/Nov/Dec 2019 – AU/NZ Sept/Oct 2019
The Fat Angel Sings 