chin chin

^^^(this is pretty much all of their official discography except for a few songs off the cry in vain comp that was released in 2023, check here if you're interested: https://sealedrecords2.bandcamp.com/album/cry-in-vain-2)

chin chin was an all female group from biel switzerland going from 1982 to the late 80s that, with similar bubblegum by razorblade intent as the ramones but by different means, translated sugary 60s girl group melodies to a vicious register. too often they've simply gotten categorized as c86 type twee indie pop without further elaboration, which really does not do them justice. listen to that HUGE fucking buzzsaw guitar tone karin gets on almost any song on sound of the westway, or the menace of esther's basslines on "desires only" or "the worlds burning" (a love song and an apocalypse song rendered in the same sound!!), and try and tell me they're playing meet-cute music. this is not shit that jangles but HOWLS!!!! less than shop assistants or what have you, the resemblance to street punk in this is really understated; they remind of vice squad at times, or new age/fatigue era blitz in their capacity to translate grounded oi intensity to novel places (they also have a song called never surrender!!). they made no attempt to defang the violent energy of punk like many of their contemporaries could be accused of, but instead used it as the backdrop to their songs of loving, losing, living, the anguished sweetness of it all on the slaughterhouse of the streets.

way too much to say on them, personal fav of mine that deserves more attention. some of these songs can pass for tiger trap instrumentals several years before that band formed. also they can throw such great curveballs, like the weird percussion bridge in "stop your crying", or the fucked up sounding guitar leads that come in on "we don't want to be prisoners" that made me check to see if there wasn't a marimba in the recording? that one group vocal harmony in "cry in vain" is sooo infectious too

- ludzu