The Chalets / An Albatross: Buffalo Bar, London 08 Mar 2005

Appearances can be deceptive. At least so I thought. Arriving in plenty of time for Irish popsters The Chalets, headlining this week’s Art Rocker session at the Buffalo Bar, I watched the band set up their equipment. Four skinny boys with long greasy hair and the occasional goatee wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Still the Rick Moranis doppelganger hovering over a keyboard offset the metaller style of the other four and I waited for some of that Chalets pop sound I had heard so much about.

As I said appearances can be deceptive, but mostly they mean exactly what they seem. Even if the lead singer hadn’t introduced the band as An Albatross, I’m sure I would have guessed this wasn’t The Chalets from his initial ear-splitting shriek. Turn out they were a bunch of metallers after all, though possibly one of the most interesting thrash metal bands I’ve ever seen.

An Albatross have a Ramonesqe approach to song-writing. Anything over two minutes long is indulgent, intros waste time, and if you haven’t just played 20 songs in half an hour, you’re just ripping people off. These frenetic, often berserk odes have titles like ‘I am the Laser Viking’ and ‘Electric Suits and Cowboy Boots’, and all consist of incessant screaming and thundering riffs. But underneath is a vestige of funk provided by the keyboards. This is confirmed during an instrumental break when the singer breaks from posturing on the floor and licking the microphone stand, to tap heartily on a cow bell, while the band wig out. It’s thrash with a twist; an excellent live experience though I couldn’t imagine listening to it at home.

After An Albatross screech off into the night the drummer from The Chalets begins his set-up brandishing a furry leopard-print tie. Now that’s pop fashion. He’s joined by a guitarist, bassist and singers – two girls in matching tiger-print and mini-beehives. If An Albatross were like walking the plank with the howling of blood-thirsty pirates in your ear, the Chalets strut the pop catwalk to the sound of crafty indie music.

They offer numerous glimpses of other bands – Stereolab, Le Tigre, even Shampoo – but only as simple references point within their own coherent style. On ‘Michael Kelly’ the girls prod Korgs and tinkle the glockenspiel, adding a spacey, ethereal quality to the hefty rhythms of the rest of the band. ‘Go Go Don’t Go’ offers a bluesy surf rock sound, like the Detroit Cobras with less Motor City industry and more Dublin charm.

The Chalets are perfectly at ease on stage, swapping instruments, doing four-part harmonies and joking with the crowd. They’ve been a fixture of the live scene in their home city for a number of years and have recently signed to Setanta Records, who are set to release their debut album later this year. They have a knack for a catchy melody without being overly simple and have both an earthy humour and expansive melodies, such as the closing number ‘Love Punch’ whose chorus goes “I love you but you’re fucking crazy”. It might just be time for The Chalets to assume permanent residence.

words & photos: Colm Larkin

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