Artist Profile & Live Review: The Chalets
A year or so ago I downloaded some Chalets tracks from a music blog (I forget which one) that sang their praises, and while they piqued my interest for a little while I ultimately got over them and as a result of them not surviving the transfer from my old desktop computer to my new(ish) laptop, I completely forgot about them and haven’t listened to them since. However, at the suggestion of Rory and Kristin from VICE, who I met up with at Art Brut’s NYC show at the Knitting Factory last Wednesday, I arrived at the venue early in time to catch The Chalet’s opening set. Great call. I was completely floored by The Chalets, who played an awesome set and completely renewed my interest in them as a band, so much so that even picked up their debut LP, Check In, at the show after their set (another great call).
The Chalets are an adorable five piece from Dublin, Ireland, who play fun, spiky pop music, standing out an exciting anomaly in Dublin’s often morose and dreary music scene. The band is comprised of the adorable Pony (Caoimhe Derwin) and Peepee (Paula Cullen) on vocals and keys, supported by Chris Judge (who is also responsible for all of the band’s fantastic art direction) and Enda Loughman on guitars and backing vocals, and Dylan Roche on drums. After garnering an ample amount of buzz with their fantastic live shows and debut Nightrocker EP, The Chalets released their awesome debut LP, Check In, last September in Ireland, though unfortunately it’s still only available on import in the US.
[picture courtesy of Music Snobbery]
Live, The Chalets are one of the most fun bands I’ve ever seen. Their banter is witty, their outfits are adorable, Pony (who is incidentally dating Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos) is overwhelmingly attractive, and the songs sound amazing. Pony and Peepee have a kind of Pipettes-esque thing going on, as they both took the stage in polka-dot red dresses with retro hairstyles and most of their songs featured some form of cutesy choreography from the two lead singers. In my opinion, with the exception of headliners Art Brut, The Chalets upstaged every other act that performed after them at the Knitting Factory last Wednesday, which includes We Are Scientists, The Robocop Kraus, and Think About Life. Highlights included single “Sexy Mistakeâ€?, which ended awesomely with Peepee and Pony absolutely shrieking the chorus into the microphone, “Theme From Chaletsâ€?, my favorite song by the group, and the incredible “Love Punchâ€?, which sounded absolutely incredible live, completely eclipsing its studio recording counterpart. Below is the complete setlist, and all three of those aforementioned pop gems are available for download there. I’d [highly recommend] you check them out and if there’s anything right in the world, you’ll be hearing a lot more from these guys stateside in the near future.
Setlist (w/ MP3s):
1. David Boring
2. Sexy Mistake
3. Cloud Bound
4. Theme From Chalets [highly recommend]
5. Red High Heels
6. No Style
7. Nightrocker
8. Gay Holiday
9. Love Punch
May 20th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
Did they offer to fuck you in the arse?
They did when I saw them support The Cribs.
No Style is brilliant.
I love them.
May 21st, 2006 at 9:36 pm
I’d heard of The Chalets before, but had never listened. I gave in today and haven’t stopped listening since this morning. Great stuff, thanks for the recommendation.
May 24th, 2006 at 10:45 am
They are great, and really nice. I’ve been shouting about them to anyone who’d listen, I interviewed them too. But I don’t really think Dublin’s scene is morose and dreary - most of the best bands can’t afford to get out of the country.
July 6th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
I love them too - I got into them when another blogposted some of their demos. The Theme is so catchy
Tim