Album Review: Chubby and The Gang - Speed Kills

Chubby and The Gang

Speed Kills

**** out of *****

The first full length from the London punks Chubby and The Gang is a singalong ready blast of punk rock with it's boozy breathes taken from England's pub culture. Speed Kills puts the band on the musical map as they use righteous guitars distorted bass rumbles and fast as lighting drumming to propel the chaos forward.

The band are all experienced having played in other formations since the early 2010's, front man Charlie Manning-Walker played in Crown Court, Arms Race, and Violent Reaction while the core of the band, Ethan Stahl, Joe McMahon, and Luke Austin were in Gutter Knife. Yet it is this combo which has found the winning formula with arena ready flair, pop touches and a heavy as hell punk rock backbone.

The record opens with a speech from Jimmie Rodgers which equates rock and roll with evils of youth culture, and while dated, the band take this to heart as they explode into their theme song "Chubby and The Gang Rule OK?". "Pariah Radio" allows for singalongs while motoring at top speed, the title track feels as if three straight ahead punk songs where crammed into one.

The group has it's hardcore punk bonafides down pat, but Speed Kills rises above the pack by incorporating more than just yelling, screeching guitars and blitzkrieg low end. The group recalls the best of Cock Sparrer dropping in pub rock, hand claps and harmonica during the stand out "All Along The Uxbridge Road" and reach back to 50's girl group influence for fantastic ode to "Trouble"  on their two best tracks here. The groovy as all get out "Moscow" and updated Ramones bop of "Bruce Grove Bullies" are both also great as the quartet span the punk landscape and use their influences in modern ways.

From the tempo changes and stuttering in "The Rise and Fall of The Gang" to the defiant direct angst rocking of "Can't Tell Me Nothing" the band clicks on all cylinders throughout Speed Kills. The closer "Grenfell Forever" goes the ballad route as a tribute to the tragic London fire adding depth and hurt to a record that was already bubbling over with passionate rock and roll. Chubby and The Gang's first offering Speed Kills checks all the boxes of punk rock for fans of the genre.
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Yet another amazing bandcamp find.  Support the artist, buy the album peep, stream it on bandcamp or below and peep some video:

Album Review: Chubby and the Gang - The Mutt's Nuts

Chubby and the Gang

The Mutt's Nuts 

****and1/2 out of *****

On Speed Kills, the debut from Chubby and the Gang, the band mixed a stout hardcore punk foundation with catchy choruses and surprising pop twists, producing one of the better albums of 2020. The outfit quickly returns and have raised the bar with The Mutt's Nuts, fifteen tunes which slam and swagger confidently while also expanding their sound in positive directions; a clear statement the band is ready for prime time.   

Frontman Charlie Manning Walker (aka Chubby Charles) is supported this go around by an expanded Gang of  Tom ‘Razor’ Hardwick, Meg Brooks Mills, Ethan Stahl and Joe McMahon. All players have roots in the English hardcore/rock scene, and the combo dances between genres as Manning Walker's gruff vocals lead the charge.  

There is another theme song to kick off this record, as the title track sets the scene and incorporates a Roger Daltrey stutter to announce a ripping guitar solo. The Rancid inspired "It's Me Who'll Pay" slams out aggressively while "Coming Up Tough" is a dynamite blast of Buzzcocks inspired strutting post punk. CatG continue their mix the pretty and profane as "Someone's Gunna Die" drumming blasts direct before soothing backing vocals and harmonica and "On The Meter" delivers a slice of West London sneers, mixing pop appeal with gutter trash punks. 

The band are much more open to traversing new musical avenues this go around. "Pressure" begins with metal like riffs before going full on guitar pedal psych-rock ala J Mascis for a phenomenal solo. Even more surprising is the band shift into balladry with "Take Me Home To London" an acoustic number in the vein of The Pogues and "Life's Lemons" which is a less successful but pulls in a wide range of original rock influences.   

The band can do straight ahead punk slamming with the best of them (see "Overachiever", "Getting Beat Again") but with The Mutt's Nuts they have broadened their sonic palette wonderfully. The garage rock, piano accented "Life On The Bayou" is a blast while closer "I Hate The Radio" is a dazzling slice of new wave inspired pop all this is and the bands best song of their short career, the anthemic "Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice", delivers a jolt of pure rock and roll. 

Chubby and the Gang have upped their game on The Mutt's Nuts, expertly keeping their punk edge while incorporating new influences and hopefully reaching new heights of fame.     

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RtBE rated the bands debut highly, this is an even better follow up. Support the band, buy the album, stream it on bandcamp or below and peep some video:

Year In Review 2020 - Favorite Albums of 2020

Here are our all of our favorite albums of 2020. This is the year end review, all in one place.

It starts with our honorable mentions then moves into our top ten albums of the year. There is a short blurb about the album and a song from it, click on the title to read our full review of the selected records. The focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen to all the way through.

It has been a weird year to say the least... 

Thanks for reading.

Year In Review 2021 - Favorite Albums 2021

Here are our all of our favorite albums of 2021. This is the year end review, all in one place.

You can find our favorite album cover art, RtBE's favorite archive releases and picks for best live shows. 

Below are our picks for RtBE's favorite albums of the year. It starts with our honorable mentions then moves into our top ten albums of the year. There is a short blurb about the album and a song from it, click on the title to read our full review of the selected records. The focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen to all the way through.

Thanks for reading. Until next year....

Year In Review 2020 - Favorite Albums Part 1 (The Just Misses and Let Downs)

Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2020's Favorite Albums Part 1 (The Just Misses and Let Downs):

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album, either on this site or elsewhere, we will link to that review and just give a quick summation; click on the name/title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for us.

The number ten just works for this so these are the albums that just missed out on being our ten favorite for the year. After that we have s few albums from artists we dig that we were let down by. Like all of our lists or 'best of's' these are meant to start conversations more than end them...

Year In Review 2021 - Favorite Albums Part 3 (#5-1)

Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2021's Favorite Albums Part 3 (Numbers 5-1):

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album, either on this site or elsewhere, we will link to that review and just give a quick summation; click on the name/title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle, Spotify or singles for us.

This ends our top ten and we have a wrap up of the full list below. You can see the first part of this list and the Just Misses if you haven't yet. 

Like all of our lists or 'best of' roundups, these are meant to start conversations, not end them...

MST3K Returns Friday! A Look Back Part 1: The Classics

It is pretty amazing that one of the smartest television ideas/written shows is returning this Friday with new episodes on Netflix. Mystery Science Theater 3000 gets a full reboot on the streaming service starting April 14th.

Original creator Joel Hodgson did a crowd sourcing campaign to get the Satellite of Love back in the stratosphere to be tormented by bad movies and it was wildly successful. For those not aware of the original show, the gimmick was bad movies (really bad movies) would play and a human with two robot sidekicks would make quick fire sarcastic retorts, 70's cultural references and intelligent quips. The humor was all over the map, from fart jokes to grand sociological statements.

That may sound like high praise, but the show clearly took a lot from the great Monty Python in that they played up to their audience, always expecting them to be smart enough to get the jokes, they did win a Peabody after all.

There is also a direct musical connection (not including the countless musical references during the shows themselves) as Joel mentioned in past interviews that he got the idea for the look of the main scenes from an insert picture on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Over the last year, we've had some extra time on our hands and the show we've watched the most without question is MST3K, they are constantly funny and immensely re-watchable. Thanks to the amazing fans there are tons of episodes online.

To commemorate the return of the show we wanted to take some time on RtBE to talk up our favorites. These posts are not meant to be comprehensive, you can go to other sites for more info as the internet is full of them. We are however dedicating two posts it, which will highlight 10 episodes total. Today we will focus on The Classic Episodes, tomorrow our Personal Favorite's. Click that read more below to dive into Part 1: The Classics

Year In Review 2021 - Favorite Albums Part 2 (#10-6)

Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2021's Favorite Albums Part 2 (Numbers 10-6):

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album, either on this site or elsewhere, we will link to that review and just give a quick summation; click on the name/title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle, Spotify or singles for us.

This begins our top ten and we will wrap it up tomorrow. You can find our list of 'just misses' and let downs here. 

Like all of our lists or 'best of' roundups, these are meant to start conversations not end them...

New Video/Single from Chubby and the Gang "The Bonnie Banks"

New video/single from RtBE favorites Chubby and the Gang, this is titled "The Bonnie Banks".

Check out the tune below: