Never Loved The Shovel

It’s time to go ape my simian punk rock friends –

Champanzee is here!

If you look at reviews of Angry Itch over the last two years they have at times been compared to the likes of Husker Du, Descendants, Nirvana, Angry Samoans, NOFX, Green Day and some bastard offspring of a Dead Kennedy’s / Mudhoney dalliance. And that is all apparent here on Champanzee. But this is not a tick box exercise in gaining punk rock credentials. The boys have been working hard (and playing hard as you will know if you have caught them live over the last year or so) and that hard work has paid off with the mother of all debut albums. Champanzee is like the best road trip you’ve ever been on – pedal to the metal flat out at times, not afraid to hit the grungy backwaters or head off road for a few extra spill and thrills before winding its way back to the final destination where we all enjoy another beer and good company.

The flow and cohesion of the album is almost sublime at times, punk rock beating though out its primate core as it pushes out, stretching the boundaries. It kicks off with Bus Surfing, a slow burning start before picking up the pace and igniting into life with John, Richard and Luke slamming the ground sprinting! Rise Again is up next and is one of four tracks that make the transition from those earlier EPs and all have benefitted from having the time to expand into the larger sound that is evident throughout. If you don’t end up singing along with Rise Again and it’s call and response finale then you’ve got your ear plugs in too tight. Don’t Be A Dick has never sounded so venomous and angry.

Misery is breakneck stuff that explodes like a Catherine wheel in a ball of sound and before you can catch your breath it’s all over. The Nirvana-esque Years Ago starts off slow and brooding before spewing forth a vocal and melody that Kurt Cobain would have died for!

Bristow Disco is a fun romper stomper of a song with the catchiest sing-along Oi Oi Oi chorus since, well check any of the bands mentioned earlier? If you thought hearing it live was great wait until you hear this version. There’s a change of tempo with the acoustic Lie In The Snow sounding like a melancholy love song for times long faded. Heroes of Hate should have been on the soundtrack to The Suicide Squad and achieves what Angry Itch seem to achieve time and again – that is to imbed these infectious riffs and lyrics in your brain, and then for days after you find yourself just singing little snippets of the songs out loud – can be quite amusing in a supermarket queue (as I know from personal experience)

Champanzee sounds like three best mates playing punk rock and having the time of the lives which is exactly what they are doing. You Me Us (Against the World) is the band sticking their flag in the ground and shouting ‘no need to fight on your own’, together we can take on the world! 1^st Floor has become a bit of a set closing classic already. It sounds like a punk rock mantra for the best nights out and is the ideal album closer – the only problem is you’ll want to listen to it all over again as soon as it finishes whicj is not really a problem at all so grab your drink come sit with me.

If this album had been released 35 years we would now be voting it in our top 100 punk albums of all time! It really is that good that I can’t see anyone not loving this album – regardless of what sub-genre you favour. So, if like me, there’s too many albums to buy and not enough time / money then make sure you pick up a copy of Champanzee ahead of anything else – you won’t be disappointed.

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