CHEW

Chew (2016)

nickEp

There’s very little internet presence for CHEW. Besides their bandcamp, their names, and their Chicago base, only a few listed shows come up. Nonetheless, their self-titled debut is lightning in a cassette.

The seven songs come and go in a brief eleven minutes but not without seizing your ears first. Doris Carroll’s throat must be on a constant state of fire because her raspy screams aren’t made from anything other than pure vitriol. She’s pissed off, that’s for sure, and her shrieks are abusive and sharp.

With screams this piercing, it’s amazing that the band maintain a grip on melody, often keeping a classic punk style layering the hardcore on top. They know how to play fast aggressive music without missing a beat. It’d be a task for any band to keep up with Carroll, but Jon "O" Giralt, Russell Harrison, and Ben Rudolph do just that. Chew sounds as though Perfect Pussy got angrier and more raw, something hard to accomplish. They are strong together, impressive for a young band. Each song has them trying to outpace and outperform each other but never at the expense of the final product. Creating a well thought out fifty-seven second burst like “Protect and Swerve” is a testament to both the creative talents and confidence of these performers.

CHEW prove talented beyond their one release. This is not the last you’ll hear of them, frankly, because they make too much noise to ignore.