ALBUM REVIEW: And Then There Was… – Chubby And The Gang

All there will be left at the end of the world is perhaps; a single CHUBBY AND THE GANG record and the remnants of a once proudly worn handlebar moustache. The question is, which of Charlie Manning’s sprawling, unruly, elastic works would it be? If the newest of those works, And Then There Was…, has anything to do with it, it would be this 16 track behemoth standing on top. 

And Then There Was… flexes Manning’s muscles of variety to their near skin bursting tension, from fast fun nostalgia on To Be Young to the sombre and regretful Cocaine Sunday it’s difficult to find the edge to the record’s form. Despite the vast juxtapositions between the themes of each song, the emotion that all tracks carry is rich and thick, it’s an overwhelming range of palpable feeling from start to finish. 

CHUBBY AND THE GANG own this signature blend of hardcore punk that meets 70s rock, beyond that there’s plenty of nuance that goes into the creation to make Manning’s work truly unique. The Ravelin exhibits the clash of the genres perfectly, Manning’s vocal sounds like somewhere down the line he’s had fun gargling glass shards, combined with a breathless tempo and stark high tuned riffs, the cocktail of genre shines bright for such a dirty combo.

On a wider scale, the contrast becomes even more apparent with the bluntness of Anticop, which shouldn’t need explaining, and the vulnerability of Cocaine Sunday where the dismal reality and dread that creeps its way in after a night of self-destruction takes over. The sombre piano ballad showcases Manning in a new light, or shadow, he becomes the most candid he’s ever let himself be on a record. 

Since You Said Goodbye is another stereotype breaker for a “hardcore punk” album, lined by whimsical star twinkling sounds and resplendent chord progressions, it’s akin to a skinhead walking down the street with CHAPPELL ROAN in the their ears and only drinking decaf coffee because they can’t handle the caffeine shakes. If that isn’t demolishing a stereotype, then what is? 

Manning hasn’t necessarily conformed to what’s expected of a traditional hardcore record, it’s been tongue in cheek, poking the bear what has come before and what’s popular, redecorating the environment around him to suit his next creation. With that being said, he can lay down a completely indulgent and self gratifying track like A Lust For More that introduces elements of oi punk with more traditional rock practices, with wailing sirens over head for some added panic behind the seething aggression in his voice, only two songs after his take on camp. 

Wish You Were Here is the march to the beat of your own drum anthem for CHUBBY And THE GANG, begging for you to be your own boss and oozing selfish independence amongst the most feral pace and snarling vocal of the record. If anything should be taken away from this third outing; it’s that you shouldn’t place any sort of expectation on what to expect from CHUBBY AND THE GANG, at any one moment he’s two steps away from being the pop culture conduit for hardcore, whether it’s present, past, or future. 

Rating: 9/10

And Then There Was… is out now via Flatspot Records. 

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