Get Fucked Explained

Get Fucked
Type:studio
Artist:the Chats
Cover:Get Fucked - The Chats.jpeg
Alt:A black-and-white image of the three band members – Josh, Eamon and Matt – holding up their middle finger to the camera. Atop the image in bold white text is "THE CHATS", and below the image, "GET FUCKED".
Released:19 August 2022
Recorded:2021
Studio:Hunting Ground, Brisbane
Length:27:56
Label:Bargain Bin
Producer:Cody McWaters
Prev Title:High Risk Behaviour
Prev Year:2020
Year:2022

Get Fucked is the second studio album by Australian punk rock band the Chats. The album was recorded in six days in Brisbane and released on 19 August 2022 through the band's own label, Bargain Bin.[1] It is their first album to feature Josh Hardy on guitar, following the departure of Josh Price in 2020.[2]

Praised for being "loaded with more instantly quotable Aussie idioms", the album lyrically explores elements of Australian culture while also "tapping into universal anxieties" including inflation and "racism in surf culture".[3] Get Fucked was preceded by four singles – "Struck by Lightning", "6L GTR", "I've Been Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane" and "Out on the Street".

The album debuted at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and number 3 on the UK Independent Albums Chart, also charting in Germany and Scotland. At the 2022 ARIA Music Awards, it won the Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album.[4] In September 2022, the band embarked on the nationwide Get Fucked Tour to support the album.

Background

In March 2020, the Chats released their debut studio album, High Risk Behaviour. It received generally favourable reviews, and won Best Independent Punk Album at the AIR Awards of 2021.[5]

In December 2020, it was announced Josh Price, guitarist of the band, had left to pursue a solo career.[6] Josh Hardy, guitarist of punk rock band the Unknowns, replaced Price.[7] In 2021, the Chats released their first single with Hardy, "AC/DC CD".

Recording

Get Fucked was recorded with producer Cody McWaters in six days at Hunting Ground in Brisbane.[8] On the schedule, frontman Eamon Sandwith admitted their "work etiquette wasn't great", as the band would "start at 11 and finish at 4, and in the middle of that we'd go to the pub for lunch for two hours, and have a few beers".[9]

Composition

The album has been described by critics as "tighter, with better playing and a tougher sound" compared to their debut album, due in part to new guitarist Hardy. Andrew Stafford of The Guardian wrote "his playing sets fire to Struck by Lightning and Panic Attack".

Like the band's previous work, Get Fucked lyrically focus largely on elements of Australian culture. "Boggo Breakout" alludes to a 1989 prison revolt at Boggo Road Gaol,[10] and "Southport Superman" – the band's shortest track – references the Queensland city of Southport. "The Price of Smokes" was praised by multiple outlets for its lyricism which NME described "sums up economic hardship with verve and authority" with the song's politically motivated chants which close the track. "Emperor of the Beach", while not explicitly alluding to the 2005 Cronulla Riots, is "clearly about the attitudes that led to them", mocking "beach racists" and gatekeeping.

John Kinsella of the Saturday Paper was one of many critics to point out the band's sonic inspiration from the Ramones,[11] which Sandwith admits – being a "big influence on the record sonically, but also visually".[12]

Release

On 11 March 2022, lead single "Struck by Lightning" was released.[13] On 5 May, the band announced the record would be titled Get Fucked, and that it would be released on 19 August 2022.[14] A second single, "6L GTR", was released alongside the announcement.[15] "I've Been Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane" and "Out on the Street" were released on 11 July and 16 August 2022, respectively.[16] [17] Supporting the album release on 19 August, the band embarked on the Get Fucked Tour in September, alongside support acts Mean Jeans, the Prize and Aborted Tortoise.

Reception

According to Metacritic, Get Fucked has received "generally favourable reviews".

Stuart Berman of Pitchfork wrote the album is "fast, crass, and loaded with more instantly quotable Aussie idioms than Crocodile Dundee and Hunter put together", praising the band's evolution from their debut album two years prior.[18]

Andrew Stafford of The Guardian praised the album in a three star review, claiming "it's tighter, with better playing and a tougher sound", but wrote it "lacks some of the naive charm that made their debut so endearing".[19] Ali Shutler from NME similarly wrote Get Fucked was "faster, more furious and more direct than anything the Chats have done before".[20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Chats.

Personnel

The Chats

Additional personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2022-05-06 . The Chats Announce New Album 'Get F*cked' & 2022 National Tour . 2022-08-24 . Music Feeds.
  2. Web site: Martin . Josh . 2020-12-01 . The Chats replace guitarist Josh Price with The Unknowns singer Josh Hardy . 2022-08-24 . NME . en-AU.
  3. Web site: 2022-08-17 . The Chats dial up the punk and attitude . 2022-10-17 . Blue Mountains Gazette . en-AU.
  4. Web site: Lars Brandle . 12 October 2022 . Rüfüs Du Sol Leads 2022 ARIA Awards Nominees (Full List) . 12 October 2022 . The Music Network.
  5. Web site: 2021 AIR Awards Winners . 6 August 2021 . Scenstr.com.au.
  6. Web site: 2021-07-06 . The Chats founding member Josh 'Pricey' Price drops new solo single '88' . 2022-08-24 . triple j . en-AU.
  7. Web site: Young . David James . 2022-08-23 . The Chats: "Our journey is truly bizarre to us, but we've got the best of both worlds" . 2022-08-24 . NME . en-GB.
  8. Web site: Gallagher . Alex . 2022-05-06 . The Chats announce new album 'Get Fucked' and share single '6L GTR' . 2022-08-24 . NME . en-AU.
  9. Web site: Pearis . Bill . 5 May 2022 . The Chats announce new album 'Get Fucked,' share "6L GTR" . 2022-08-24 . BrooklynVegan . en.
  10. Web site: 1989: The 'Great Boggo Road Fun Run' . 2022-10-17 . Inside BOGGO ROAD.
  11. Web site: Kinsella . John . 2022-10-15 . Get Fucked . 2022-10-17 . The Saturday Paper . en.
  12. Web site: Pearis . Bill . The Chats tell us about the inspirations behind new album 'Get Fucked' . 2022-10-17 . BrooklynVegan . 23 August 2022 . en.
  13. Web site: Brereton . Greta . 2022-03-11 . Listen to The Chats' electrifying new single 'Struck By Lightning' . 2022-08-24 . NME . en-AU.
  14. Web site: 2022-05-06 . The Chats Announce New Album 'Get F*cked' & 2022 National Tour . 2022-08-24 . Music Feeds.
  15. Web site: 2022-05-05 . The Chats Announce New Album, Share "6L GTR" Video . 2022-08-24 . pastemagazine.com . en.
  16. Web site: Fuamoli . Sosefina . The Chats Release Visuals For 'Out On The Street' Ahead Of Album Release . 24 August 2022 . MusicFeeds. 16 August 2022 .
  17. Web site: Aubrey . Elizabeth . The Chats share new single 'I've Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane' . 24 August 2022 . NME. 11 July 2022 .
  18. Web site: Berman . Stuart . Get Fucked . 24 August 2022 . Pitchfork.
  19. News: Stafford . Andrew . The Chats: Get Fucked review – Brisbane's reprobate punks trade novelty for longevity . 24 August 2022 . The Guardian. 19 August 2022 .
  20. Web site: Shutler . Ali . The Chats – 'Get Fucked' review: rebellious rock ragers with a political edge . 24 August 2022 . NME. 19 August 2022 .