Chubby and the Gang All Along the Uxbridge Road (live at SXSW Online 2021)

At the start of 2020, before the world turned to ash, several US publications began running glowing reviews of Speed Kills, the breakneck debut album from Chubby and the Gang, a West London punk troupe comprised of members of various bands associated with The New Wave of British Hardcore, among them Violent Reaction, Abolition, Big Cheese and more. At the time, the band helmed by local electrician Charlie Manning had developed a cult following in the UK, largely rooted in the crosspollinating nature of the punk scene, select shows including dates with Sheer Mag and an impending, lastminute US run with Royal Hounds. Speed Kills, produced by Jonah Falco of Fucked Up, would go on to be called the best punkpop LP in recent memory by Paste Magazine, a debut that comes alive with liberating energy in an 8. 0 review from Pitchfork and full of massive barroom gang choruses, power chords at breakneck tempos, rock spelled RAWK and visceral gratification as Stereogum put it. Impressive going for a band at