The Chats

Seemingly sprung from the overripe petri dish of a classic Aussie pub, The Chats rose to worldwide prominence with the 2017 slacker anthem “Smoko,” a brash ode to the power of a smoke break during an overheated Queensland workday. Formed a year previously on the Sunshine Coast, the trio have immortalised other such pedestrian endeavors as eating out (“Pub Feed”) and losing cigarettes (“Mum Stole My Darts”) via no-frills punk sing-alongs that quickly made the jump to the summer festival circuit. Singer/bassist Eamon Sandwith renders his everyday tales with a smirking mischievousness that matches his ratbag haircut, and 2020’s debut album, High Risk Behaviour, succeeded in keeping the threat of maturity well at bay. But The Chats back up their wisecracks with anxious, guitar-addled intensity: Witness their ripping tributes to AC/DC (“AC/DC CD”) and Metallica (“Holier Than Thou”) alike.