West London scuzz punks Chubby and the Gang have revealed the details of their highly anticipated new album: it’s called The Mutt’s Nuts (naturally), was produced by Jonah Falco (of Fucked Up) and comes out on August 27 via Partisan. With the album songs “Life’s Lemons” and “Lightning Don’t Strike Twice” already out, they’ve also delivered a third new single today called “Coming Up Tough”. Chubby aka Charlie Manning Walker says:
“‘Coming Up Tough’ is about a family member of mine who ended up going to prison at a very young age for over 20 years. He went in as a kid and spent most of his life in the system. Where’s the justice in that? You come out and have to prove yourself to a world that shut you away – what chance do you have? There’s no attempt at actual rehabilitation, no empathy, just a cage to be forgotten about. I wanted the song to feel like a snowball effect. The character gets thrown out of his house at first and it feels almost juvenile, but then as it progresses you realize the real trouble he’s in. And too often once you’re in trouble you can’t get out.”
As expected with a song this personal and passion-fuelled, “Coming Up Tough” finds Chubby and the Gang barreling like an army on motorbikes, but still with a Thin Lizzy-esque melodicism to their riffing. Chubby is in full-throated fury as he recounts the tale, the guitars piling on behind him like a bunch of bruisers looking for the littlest excuse to fight. The influence of producer Jonah Falco seems particularly prevalent here, as “Coming Up Tough” manages a similar braun-to-pop balance that Fucked Up have become masters of. This is all about Chubby’s personal experience though, and you can hear it thrashed into every growled utterance, as he switches between furious and tender, revolving around the central question “how can you prove ’em wrong if no one even gave you a chance?”
Chubby and the Gang’s new album The Mutt’s Nuts is out on August 27 through Partisan (pre-order/save). You can find the band on Facebook and Instagram, and also catch them at these dates:
Nov 4th | Woking – Fiery Bird
Nov 5th | Bournemouth – Anvil
Nov 6th | Coventry – Central Library
Nov 7th | St. Albans – The Horn
Nov 8th | Hull – The Polar Bear
Nov 10th | Hebden Bridge – Trades Club
Nov 11th | Stoke – The Sugarmill
Nov 12th | Blackpool – Bootleg Social
Nov 13th | Edinburgh – Mash House
Nov 14th | Aberdeen – Café Drummond
Nov 16th | Sunderland – Independent
Nov 17th | Huddersfield – Parish
Nov 18th | Liverpool – Jimmy’s
Nov 19th | Sheffield – Delicious Clam
Nov 20th | Sheffield – Delicious Clam
Nov 21st | Milton Keynes – Crauford Arms
Nov 23rd | Exeter – Cavern Club
Nov 24th | Southampton – Joiners
Nov 25th | Oxford – The Bullingdon
Nov 26th | Bedford – Esquires
Nov 27th | Cambridge – Portland Arms
Nov 28th | Southend – Chinnery’s
Nov 30th | Tunbridge Wells – Forum
Dec 1st | Margate – Elsewhere
Dec 2nd | Dover – Booking Hall
Dec 3rd | Portsmouth – Guildhall Studio
Dec 4th | Brighton – Green Door Store
Dec 5th | Norwich – Waterfront Studio
Dec 6th | Nottingham – Bodega
Dec 8th | Birmingham – Castle & Falcon
Dec 9th | Leeds – Belgrave Music Hall
Dec 10th | Newcastle – Think Tank
Dec 11th | Glasgow – King Tuts
Dec 12th | Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach
Dec 14th | Manchester – YES
Dec 15th | London – Scala
Dec 17th | Bristol – Exchange
Dec 18th | Dublin – The Workman’s Club
Dec 19th | Belfast – Voodoo
