Grian Chatten, Chaos for the Fly review

Grian Chatten, Chaos for the Fly: REVIEW

“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.


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