Hands down the world’s greatest post-millennial punk-rock group, The Chats have skipped past the unimaginable banana skin of COVID-19 to emerge tougher, faster, funnier, more riotous – even better for 2022!

    The trio, originally formed in Australia’s self-explanatory resort Sunshine Coast, are a once-in-a-generation band who reconnect popular music with its roots in ultra-raw rock ‘n’ roll, inject their own fresh perspective, and have duly made an instantaneous connection with their youthful peers right across the globe.

    Most people know them for their 2017 breakthrough banger, ‘Smoko’, but that has proved to be just the party-starter, merely the entrée to a high-volume, full-throttle world where intoxication, excitement and laughter rule supreme – the kind of kinetic thrills which have all but drained out of contemporary pop/rock. 

As the 2020’s dawned, The Chats were building enviable momentum right across Europe, North America and their homeland, ready for the arrival of their full-length debut, ‘High Risk Behaviour’. Replete with further rowdy classics including ‘Pub Feed’ and ‘Identity Theft’, the album dropped just as the pandemic struck, and The Chats have duly been through the same frustrating two years of broken dreams and shredded itineraries as every other combo.

Undeterred and now stocked to overflowing with frustration and fury, they strike back with a second long-player called ‘GET FUCKED’ – an incendiary, hyper-adrenalized blitz from punk heaven, showcasing a rockin’ new guitarist, and an electrifying all-killer-no-filler 13 tracks which perfectly capture the band’s explosive energy. It is, quite simply, another laugh-out-loud, pogo-through-the-floorboards stroke of motherfucking genius.

Hailing from Santa Cruz, CA, hardcore punk band Scowl has burst onto the scene as one of the most authentic young voices in the genre, influenced by everything from 80s’ hardcore, punk, and oi to modern alternative pop. Formed in 2019 and consisting of vocalist Kat Moss, guitarist Malachi Greene, bassist Bailey Lupo, and drummer Cole Gilbert, Scowl came out swinging with their fuzzed-out self-titled demo and EP Reality After Reality. Catching the attention of Flatspot Records, the band signed with the label for the release of their critically acclaimed 2021 album, How Flowers Grow. The ten songs on the album are a masterclass in how to write heartfelt punk and hardcore without losing the sense of youthful enthusiasm and fun that makes the genre compelling to begin with. The lyrics are delivered with a biting sense of anger and self-reflection, dealing with everything from personal betrayals to socio-economic strife. 

Receiving praise from top music publications like SPIN, Stereogum, Revolver, BrooklynVegan, and a breakout cover story with Kerrang!, it’s no surprise Scowl are shaping up to be one of the most exciting bands of their era. The band has shared the stage with the likes Terror, Comeback Kid, Spiritual Cramp, Young Guv, and Zulu to name a few, and 2022 will find the band on tour with Touche Amore as well as planning for their first performance in Europe. With an undisputed authenticity and intensity found in both their recordings and live show, Scowl has certainly planted a seed for their takeover of hardcore and beyond.