THE CHISEL + PLASTICS + IMPOSTER – LATEST MUSIC BAR, BRIGHTON 27.3.22
Lout Promotions has curated an exciting night of hardcore punk for a Sunday evening at the Latest Music Bar nestled away on Manchester Street, Brighton. Even though I’d already been at The Prince Albert all day, where I was reviewing the Supersuckers (review HERE), I managed to find a little energy in the reserve tanks and headed down to check out the bill.
Kicking off the night are local outfit Imposter with their bruising hardcore and bruises I indeed get. The front few rows of the crowd go nuts, rushing each other from one side to the other, and I’m immediately slammed into the railings to the left of the large stage and take note to keep my ass out of the way and head to the right-hand side, where it looks a little safer.
I’m soon proved wrong as I receive a well-planted foot in my side from one high kicking punter and a bang on the head from another, and this is only the first song or could be the second as they come thick and fast, and I have trouble keeping up. With guttural vocals barked over thrashing guitar, they produce around nine songs in less than twenty minutes; it’s NWOBHC with stabs of Oi primarily delivered at breakneck speed. Imposter, though they don’t do it for me tonight, I’m definitely in the minority.
Next up are Plastics. I’ve been dying to see this band since I bought their 7″ vinyl (order it HERE) during the first lockdown, and tonight they don’t disappoint. Plastics are hard, fast, hardcore punk elevated by frontwoman Oli’s vocals which hark back to classic punk screamers of the 70s.
The songs may be fast as f*ck hi-energy numbers, but they’ve hooks that drag you in, and there wasn’t a track I didn’t like during the sub 30 minutes they played. However, highlights would be ‘Bitter’, ‘Blue Mould’ and ‘Sitting And Stewing’ if I was forced to choose. This is a band I want to see again.
Plastics setlist:
‘Prisoner’
‘Bitter’
‘Scorpion’
‘New’
‘Blue Mould’
‘Get Away’
‘Sitting And Stewing’
‘Nerve Pusher’
‘Lies’
Plastics can be found on Instagram.
Headliners this evening are The Chisel, which features a crew of members with long-term associations to the London punk scene, namely Cal (vocals), Charlie (guitar), Nick (drums), Luke (guitar) and Tom (bass). They formed in early 2020 and quickly secured a reputation as one of the most exciting bands from a pool of contemporaries that includes Chubby & The Gang, Stingray and Big Cheese. The Chisel have been making quite a name for themselves on the punk and hardcore scene on the back of their ‘Retaliation’ album and three well-received EPs, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Chisel play classic Oi, UK82 and street-punk and bring it bang up to date for the 21st-century crowd. Every song is an anthem or call to arms. They belt through ‘Unlawful Execution’, ‘Come See Me’, and title track ‘Retaliation’ which are all sub-two-minute sing-a-longs for the punters to get their teeth into, and things get really wild for ‘Chisel Boys’, which brings to mind the terrace chants of the Cockney Rejects with the pit barking back the chorus in unison.
The imposing figure of frontman Cal darts across the stage and up into the crowd, happily pushing the mic into their faces with a massive smile across his face. You can see he’s clearly loving it here tonight. There’s a noticeable absence of Charlie from Chubby And The Gang, who’d usually be on guitar, but The Chats’ tour is keeping him busy at the moment. Read the Brighton & Hove News review of their Brighton gig this week HERE.
The band sped through thirteen numbers in less time than an episode of ‘Eastenders‘ with double the drama and 100% more entertainment. They finish off with a rousing version of ‘Enough Said’ which drains the last bit of energy from the sweaty mob at the front of the stage, and they pile out of the venue to get some well needed fresh air. If you’ve not heard or seen The Chisel yet, get a taste of their debut album and put some dates in your calendar to catch them live, as that’s where they truly shine.
The Chisel setlist:
‘Unlawful Execution’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Come See Me’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Retaliation’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Rat Running Scared’ (from 2020 ‘Deconstructive Surgery’ EP)
‘Class Oppression’ (from 2020 ‘Deconstructive Surgery’ EP)
‘Tooth And Nail’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Shit Life Syndrome’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Chisel Boys’ (from 2020 ‘Deconstructive Surgery’ EP)
‘Nation’s Pride’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Billy Aaron’ (from 2020 ‘Deconstructive Surgery’ EP)
’So Do I’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Not The Only One’ (from 2021 ‘Retaliation’ album)
‘Enough Said’ (from 2021 ‘Enough Said’ single)
Check out their Bandcamp page HERE.
