The Chats – Half Cut (Teal & Pink Vinyl)

The Chats' Half Cut is the Sunshine Coast trio's third album, arriving on 5 March 2027 after 2022's Get Fucked. That matters because The Chats have built their reputation on turning everyday Australian life into fast, funny, blunt punk songs, and this record keeps that directness while opening the frame a little. Produced by Jay Whalley of Frenzal Rhomb and recorded in Los Angeles, it presents a band still committed to raw energy but willing to let more personal themes into the room.

Across 14 tracks, Half Cut mixes the group's no-nonsense punk attack with classic rock'n'roll riffs, catchy choruses and the kind of sharp humour that has always suited Eamon Sandwith's writing. Early titles including "Off It," "Brown Bottle Flu" and "Half Arsed" suggest the same dry eye for hangovers, bad decisions and daily aggravation, but the supplied notes also point to a more open perspective than on earlier releases. That balance feels like the useful story here: The Chats are not smoothing out their rough edges so much as stretching their songwriting without losing the scrappy immediacy that made them stand out in the first place.

Features

• LP, Teal & Pink Vinyl
• Limited coloured-vinyl indie exclusive for independent and specialty retailers