ALBUM REVIEW: Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, "Come & Chutney"

By Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/07/2018

Label: Riff Rock Records

 “Come & Chutney”is remarkable in so many ways, but perhaps most tellingly when the album ends you want to both play it again and go see one of their shows immediately. With no flab to be found on it, and packed with hooks which will lodge in your brain for months, “Come and Chutney” is damn near perfect.

“Cum & Chutney” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Doggy Bag Of Slurry

2). Krones Of The Kiln

3). Cojones Feos

4). Glue Ear

5). Gutlads

6). Gawdless

7). Doner Trump

8). Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy

The Review:

Watching Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters live is a truly life affirming experience. Few other bands lock in and groove like they do. Built on the thunderous rhythm section of drummer Mark Buckwell and four stringer Will Hart, with frontman Owen Karty laying ocean-sized fuzzed-up riffs and gravelly vowel-mangling vocals over the top, their sheer sonic power is matched by their fierce tie-die t-shirt and corpse-painted stage presence.

Whilst their debut 2015 EP “Earth Hog” was a sterling effort, it served more as a momento of their live shows than anything. Their songs on the 2017 “Special Split” with Ten Foot Wizard likewise. And so, one was left wondering if Chubby were to be one of those bands who never quite caught their onstage majesty on vinyl.

All such fears are swept away after just one play of “Come & Chutney”,and after several spins it’s clear the trio have created something quite special. We’re talking “candidate for album of the year” levels of goodness here. From the opening riff of “Doggy Bag Of Slurry” onwards, the Chubbs deliver 8 slabs of buzzsaw boogie and achieve the remarkable feat of making them all killer with no absolutely no filler.

Every track packs a punch and is an ear worm: we’re talking 40-odd minutes of vim, four-to-the-floor swagger, drug and kebab love, and a good old go at Donald Trump. Immaculately captured by Sam Thredder in his Cro’s Nest studio, Buckwell’s bass drum is constantly battering your head and driving each seismic anthem forward. Hart’s bass rumbles and thunders. Karty’s guitars are constantly set to stun. When Chubbyproperly hit their stride, on the majestic “Krones Of The Kiln”, they sound like the bastard offspring of ZZ Topcirca ”Rhythmeen”. Only better.

The best is left to last. Closing 10-minute wig-out “Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy” turns off the fuzz and ramps up the heavy psych, starting with a beautifully plucked guitar motif then building through to an explosive organ-led finale featuring guests Chantal Brown of Vodun and Gary Harkin of Ten Foot Wizard. The song reeks of weed and sounds like 1969.

“Come & Chutney”is remarkable in so many ways, but perhaps most tellingly when the album ends you want to both play it again and go see one of their shows immediately. With no flab to be found on it, and packed with hooks which will lodge in your brain for months, “Come and Chutney” is damn near perfect.

“Come & Chutney”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook