Eastbourne has often been labelled an old peoples’ town. Comedian Lee Evans once joked that the shops all had bifocal windows. It’s true that it lacks the vibrancy of the nearby city of Brighton, but Eastbourne is far from being somewhere that people go exclusively to live out their final years. Party punks CHUB aren’t just set on putting the town on the musical map; they’re also seemingly making a play for becoming one of the noisiest things to ever emerge from that south coast seaside resort.

Since their formation in 2019, this band have proved themselves capable of making a hell of a noise. By blending the speed of punk and the ferocity of metal, it’s possible to hear the roots of early Motorhead in their full throttle approach, but just as vibrantly, their best works also capture a punk ‘n’ roll spirit that sometimes sounds like a more commercial Zeke spliced with the guts of Glucifer. This creates a brilliant sound where the rhythm guitars attack with intensity, whilst an unrelentingly shouty street punk vocal bolsters the band’s sheer force.

That approach has rarely been heard more effectively than on their current single ‘Carolina Reaper’. A high octane hot mess of punk riffs, the number opens with a genuine force and never lets up. Guitarist Greg attacks the relative melody with a sharp sound and an even sharper approach, which allows vocalist Ben to unleash a shouty performance that mixes the shamelessly British accent of old Consumed recordings with the unrelenting anger of classic hardcore. An enthusiastic rhythm section thunder through the number with a fearsome approach, keeping everything insanely tight. Despite this being a number built from more hardcore elements, in CHUB tradition, though, the track still comes with a pinch of party spirit, and in this case, a careening lead guitar break offsets everything with a barrage of off-kilter notes that give the feeling of intoxication.

This is far tighter and more sophisticated – relatively speaking – than earlier CHUB fare like ‘Wasters’, but fans will still recognise the heart and enthusiasm of the trashy punks they’ve come to love. By showcasing a much more focused musical arrangement, ‘Carolina Reaper’ stands a decent chance of bringing new fans into the fold, too, making it an all round winner of a track.

Check out the video below.