Speed Kills, the debut album from Chubby And The Gang, was a pure adrenaline rush. Perhaps there is some recency bias on my part, but I have trouble recalling a more exciting debut in the past decade – it was my favorite record of 2020. How do you follow up a record that special and that succesful? Chubby And The Gang seem less interested in that question than the serious music critics, because on their sophomore album the band does whatever they feel like. The Mutt’s Nuts is a different beast altogether while still very recognizably Chubby And The Gang. The band did not try to replicate Speed Kills, although The Mutt’s Nuts has that same violent threat of street punk and the agressive rush of hardcore: The first couple of tracks on The Mutt’s Nuts would have fit perfectly on Speed Kills. The rest of the record shows that the band has more to offer and is unafraid to create their own path. Try sitting still to the Malcolm Youngesque guitar riff over a thumping bass in Coming Up Tough, or the pub rock’n’ roll of Life On The Bayou and Lightning Don’t Strike Twice. There is even some tasteful soulful balladry in songs like I Hate The Radio and Life’s Lemons.
If Speed Kills was a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart, The Mutt’s Nuts is more like a surprise seven course meal where you never know what is coming up next. Ultimately, it offers a more diverse rush that likely is healthier in the longer term for mind, body and soul. This is one hell of an album.