by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The Chives are here and the future may never be the same… maybe not in relation to their arrival, but maybe exactly because of it. The Boston based garage punk collective, which features members of Blue Ray, Squitch, Brittle Brian, and many others, have released their self-titled today debut via Super Wimpy Punch Records (Holiday Music, Boon, Dust From 1000 Yrs). The record capitalizes on the promise of lead singles “The Chives Buy Guns” and “I’m Always Afraid,” setting the monitors constantly into the red and bashing out some exceptionally immature DIY basement punk songs with a heart of gold. The immaturity isn’t a slight but more a winking nod, The Chives know what they are up to and it’s obvious they are having a great time.
Built on blistering leads and youthful aggression, the record is like a bubblegum pop effort left out in the sun to fry, each song resting on jangly melodies buried in a wide array of fuzz. These songs are well written then lovingly deconstructed, finding enjoyment in the primitive burn and peel of excessive distortion and brash progressions. Songs like the swarming “Runnin From The Law” buzz with feedback and delinquent lyrics that threaten to “steal your candy” while the band go heavy on the shred, while “Pediatrician Song” opt to get a bit more tangled in their path, while keeping it joyfully lowbrow. The Chives is a record you can have some fun with, play it as loud as possible, and feel each wildly pummeled groove and primal riff. Stay home, smoke weed, listen to The Chives.