Artist Spotlight: Street Chant
This is gonna be super super fucking specific and I doubt any of you know who this band is, so I’ll start you off with a story. I was 9 or 10 and I was super into music sim games on my old iPad, there was this one Aussie/NZ one I downloaded and I heard this sick band in that game. Said band being none other than New Zealand indie punx Street Chant. Now despite Scotty D doing the garage punk artist spotlights I’m gonna steal that because before really diving into HC I was a huge garage punk kid. This originally was gonna be an album spotlight on their debut LP, Means, but considering how I’m in non credit (basically my schools equivalent of fuckin jail) and I only have my liked songs at my disposal I’m gonna talk about those. So what am I yammering about? Let’s spotlight these unsung legends.
I feel like the best place to start would be with the first song I’ve ever heard by them, it’s called The Fatigues. It starts off with some ambience and feedback from their amps before jumping into this kinda soft but technical little groove interspersed with fast punkier parts. The pre chorus comes in with this kinda bouncy almost 2 steppy rhythm before going into the chorus of “welcome to the last time” and I can not for the life of me decipher it with only one headphone in on my broken ass school earbuds, online lyrics sites ain’t helping either until we get to LP 2. But it’s poppy and has some nice escalation to it before going back to the verse and pre chorus combo that I described previously. We go into the chorus again and it’s such a great one, hooked me instantly when I heard it. It seems like we’re going into another verse, then it psyches us out with a 2 steppy groove, then finally it goes to the fast little part of the verse to finish off the song.
Another great track I’d like to highlight is Less Chat, More Sewing. I remember loving this song so much as a kid and I haven’t heard it in a few years so I’m stoked to relisten. We start of with this pick scratch before going into this roll-y type of beat which is dope over this plucky lead. Then it goes to this straight HC punk riff that even has something you can 2 step to so that’s a plus. Emily’s vocals come in with this kinda singy, kinda screamy delivery. The chorus kicks in with these doubled vocals and it’s poppy while still having that aggressive/sarcastic sounding edge exhibited in the verse. The bridge comes in next with these super droney vocals. We go back to that chorus and it’s so catchy. Now something I forgot, we go into a fucking side to side part(?!) in this garage punk song. It really executes that building feeling before ending on a few hits on the crash.
Another REALLY fuckin good song is Yr Philosophy. Starts on the toms with this almost tribal sounding beat. But it also has that side to side feeling as the end of Less Chat. The main beat is super groovy and Emily’s vocals have this wild franticness. The chorus has these big sounding vocal harmonies almost whilst still being bleak in tone. It goes to the verse and the chorus again but it works for what they’re going for. Then we get this solo that has this really cool drop out on everything but the guitar and it’s really really sick. That ends the track after another bar or so after the drop out.
Now we have a song I’d consider their signature song. Scream Walk. It starts off with a more poppy sounding riff and a less technical beat on the drums, more standard garage punk from 2010. There’s these nice little harmonies in the vocals which follow the drums and that always tickles my fancy. Then we go into this little ambient break before coming back with this fast part which transitions to the second verse. Same as the first but I like the repetitiveness. We go to that fast part again and then this high scream goes into this super leady bit that I LOVE to end the track.
So far we’ve only talked about Means, their debut record. But what about Hauora? Their 2016 follow up to Means which turns 10 this year (Jesus Christ), does it hold up? Short answer is yes. But in a very different way, let’s jump into some favorites of mine from that record.
Sink is a fucking banger, straight up a track with great vibes. Sounds very poppy. But let’s talk about it. Starts off fast with these “ooh’s” and then the verse kicks in and it’s super punk. Sounds like some shit you’d hear in a Tony Hawk game, then it goes into this super dropped out bit with just drums, bass, and the smallest little lead (but it’s more ambient than an actual lead). Anyways we go back to the first part of the track into verse 2. It carries that energy nicely before going back to that drum and bass heavy part. We go into a solo really showcasing their guitar work before going into the drum and bass heavy part but now on the hi hats. We go into verse 3 and again it rips. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Emily’s accent really comes out in the line “I’m not laughing/I’m just leaving” which gets a good chuckle out of me. The drums switch to the crash over the hats to end the track. Way more dynamics than the first record where the stripped down rawness was the appeal showcasing the bleakness of NZ life (I’ve never been there so someone from there can certainly tell me if that’s true).
Anyways this next song isn’t a banger where I’m like “holy shit the dynamics omg” but it’s super fun and inspired me when I used to write really shitty breakcore. It’s The Good Room. It starts off with programmed drums and keys before all the other shit you can expect from a Street Chant song kicks into high gear. Verse is pretty standard but the chorus has these weird “oh oh’s” with the keys perfectly following and kinda morphing into it. It’s insane. After the chorus we get this great lead into the next super short verse. We go to the chorus which is the same but instead of the lead afterwards we get some more vocals from Emily. Instrumentals stop for a second or 2 before coming back and the “oh oh’s” along with the final line “never change your mind” ending the track.
Another banger is the song Insides, it starts with this dirty ass bassline and these haunting leads. The verse comes in and it has this nice delivery to the vocals. The pre chorus is primarily drums and semi ambient leads on the guitar before the chorus comes in and has this stompiness to it, shockingly moshy. We go back to that intro bit with the haunting leads before the next verse. The verse is more of the same except for one thing I’d like to point out, before going into the pre chorus there’s this sick way they drop out of the verse by slowing it down like a warped record, DJ shit almost. I dunno that’s just the best I can describe it. Anyways we go to the pre chorus with the drums, leads, and vocals before going back into that shockingly moshy chorus. Then everything drops out besides the lead and at this moment it hit me that the main lead kinda sounds like Riot Squad by Cocksparrer. To my shock that lead was building to a breakdown that I somehow forgot about. What. Then the pre chorus comes up but instead of there being a lack of bass in the mix and the drums being on the snare, it’s a 2 step beat instead. What the fuck, how did I forget this?? Same with the chorus. WHAT?! How did I forget about that. The lyrics “insides, woah-oh-oh-oh” end the track. WHAT.
And with that last track that seems like a good place to end this article. I was going to add something about Pedestrian Support League and I was gonna make a joke about how the bassline sounds like the song Linus Spacehead by Wavves, but I don’t think we’re topping Insides today because how did I forget all those parts. I’ll keep this next part short and sweet. If you haven’t heard Street Chant, go listen to them. They’re one of the unsung legends of the 2010’s indie punk movement and a band I always dreamed would come to Philly but never did. This was the first band I showed my dad that blew his mind and that was a huge ego boost for 10 year old Ryan. TL;DR Street Chant fucking rips and you should listen to them, end of story.
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