Grian Chatten, Chaos for the Fly review
Music, Sounds

Grian Chatten, Chaos for the Fly: REVIEW

by Dave MacIntyre

“Swapping electric guitars for acoustic ones (and plenty of strings, horns, harmonicas and piano), Chatten channels Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Morrissey and Elliott Smith.”

Grian Chatten, Chaos for the Fly (Partisan)

If Grian Chatten’s goal was to make an album unquestionably and inherently distinct from his day job fronting Fontaines D.C., he’s passed that test with flying colours. His debut solo LP, Chaos for the Fly, does away with the crunching post-punk that put the Irish singer on the map, instead making a folkier and almost crooner-like body of work. Swapping electric guitars for acoustic ones (and plenty of strings, horns, harmonicas, mandolins and pianos), Chatten combines old-school folk melodies with more introspective, vulnerable and subdued lyrics than we’re used to hearing. He also channels Leonard Cohen (especially on “The Score”), Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Morrissey and Elliott Smith to varying degrees. Trip-hop infl uences can be heard in the sparse, downtrodden closer “Season for Pain,” while the violin-driven “Fairlies,” waltz-tempo acoustic number “Salt Throwers Off a Truck” and the strangely psychedelic “Bob’s Casino” are also highlights. Overall, Chaos for the Fly proves with plenty of gusto that Chatten can be a truly transfi xing one-man show. 9/10 Trial Track: “Fairlies”

“Fairlies” by Grian Chatten

For more on Grian Chatten, please visit his website.

This review was originally published in the July issue of Cult MTL.

For our latest in music, please visit the Music section.

Posted in Music, Sounds

by Dave MacIntyre

Contributing editor for Music
Dave MacIntyre is a Montreal-based freelance journalist. His primary topic of interest is music, but is equally comfortable writing about sports, current events, and Montreal-related initiatives. Outside of Cult MTL, his bylines can be found in publications like BeatRoute and Northern Transmissions. And no, he is not related to Reba, nor to the WWE wrestler Drew, nor to Joey from New Kids on the Block.