Back several years ago, flipping through Sirius XM stations in my car, I stopped on Faction Punk to catch “Smoko” by Australian punk band, The Chats. Now, at first I thought it was a little rough, but I love an Aussie accent, and it ended up being catchy as hell! I never really looked much further into the band, but I played that song on the regular. Now, at least three years later, I’m finally giving their 2020 full-length debut, High Risk Behaviour, a listen!
It’s everything I think a punk record should be. Everything is hard and fast, rough, and brief. This 14-track record clocks in right around 28 minutes. That’s insane! I think this is a type of record that would drive my classic rock-loving dad bonkers. He likes to listen to 20-minute sagas, not a minute and a half long bangers. That’s truly what these songs are! They are short and sweet and to the point, which is what punk music is all about! But seriously, the longest song off this full-length is under three minutes. I don’t know if I’ve ever listened to songs this short in my life, but it works so well. There were maybe two instances where I was wished a track would have been longer, but they really were perfect the way they were.
Before giving the whole album a listen, I had stumbled upon a few singles, including “Pub Feed,” which is fun and probably true for so many people. My absolute favorite find had to be “The Clap,” which I’m sure people yell along with in live settings. Good for them bringing STDs to rock. Other favorites of mine after listening to the whole thing were opening track, “Stinker” and closing track, “Better Than You.” Both are so different from each other, yet they bring the whole record together. Another super fun one that both hysterical and sad is, “The Kids Need Guns.” America…instilling the best of intentions everywhere (jk haha).
So yes, overall, this is definitely an album you should check out. And listen, if you end up not liking, you don’t even have a full half hour invested in it! But I promise, if you like punk in any way, then you’ll love what this Aussie group has to offer. To make themselves even more fun, lead singer Eamon even has a ginger mullter/bowl cut going on. That makes their videos very fun. Also, if you’re looking for even more recent tunes from the band I highly recommend checking out their latest single, “AC/DC CD” – it’s a riot! I really hope to see these guys tour North America in the near future!