The Chats

Self-proclaimed Australian shed-rock band the Chats make rambunctious old-school punk peppered with their cheeky, irreverent sense of humor. More interested in beer, smokes, and fast cars than the state of the world, the Chats follow in the tradition of Australian bands like the Cosmic Psychos, the Hard-Ons, and Dune Rats in cranking out raw, energetic punk with a smirking sense of fun and a regular-guy attitude. The trio was first thrust into the spotlight when their song “Smoko” and its accompanying video went viral in 2017. That same year, they issued their breakthrough Get This in Ya!! EP, and in 2020 they delivered their first album, High Risk Behaviour, which hit the Australian Top Ten and made them local stars. While there was a major personnel change before they could cut their second LP, 2022′s tatefully titled Get Fucked showed they were still rough, rowdy, and out for good times.
Formed in 2016 on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, Queensland, the Chats came together while members Josh Price (guitar), Matt Boggis (drums), and Eamon Sandwith (bass, vocals) were still in high school. Named after the local suburb of Chatswood, the trio cited the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Black Flag as early influences, and the classically scrappy D.I.Y. sound of punk could be heard across their self-titled debut EP, which appeared in 2016. But it would be their follow-up EP, Get This in Ya!!, that garnered the band attention with the catchy lead single “Smoko” in 2017. The Chats filmed a low-budget video for the song at Peregian Beach, Sandwith’s house, and a construction site nearby. The clip was later posted on a surf store’s social media page, where it really took flight, racking up millions of views over the Internet and bringing the band worldwide fame
In July of 2019, Get This in Ya!! was re-released to wider distribution by the American indie label Burger Records. During the run-up to this, the band issued a string of characteristically direct, riff-based singles, all of which ultimately appeared on their first full-length release, March 2020′s High Risk Behaviour. The album’s title was reportedly a reference to a ticket Boggis got from the police for skating in dangerous places. High Risk Behaviour became a big hit at home, peaking at number five on the Australian albums chart, and also fared well in Scotland, where it went all the way to number 15. The Australian Independent Record Labels Association recognized the Chats’ success at their 2021 AIR Awards, naming their debut album the Best Independent Punk Album of the Year. Not long after it came out, Josh Price dropped out of the band, and guitarist Josh Hardy, formerly of the Unknowns, took his place.
In late 2020, the Chats paid tribute to fellow Australians AC/DC with the single “AC/DC CD,” and the following year, they contributed a cover of “Can You Point Your Fingers (And Do the Twist?)” to ReWiggled, a tribute album to the venerable children’s band the Wiggles. (The album also included the Wiggles taking a stab at “Pub Feed” from High Risk Behaviour.) And the expansive Metallica tribute project, The Metallica Blacklist, featured the Chats putting their own spin on “Holier Than Thou.” In March 2022, they dropped The First Two EPs by the Chats, which, as described, packaged The Chats and Get This in Ya!! on one disc. A new single, “Struck by Lightning,” appeared in March 2022, and it was a preview of the group’s second full-length LP. In case anyone worried that success would have polished off the Chats’ rough edges, the band reassured fans they hadn’t changed so much with 2022′s Get Fucked, a rollicking punk rock session as defiant as its title. ~ Bekki Bemrose & Mark Deming