ItâĂ„Ă´s the great rock âÄònâĂ„Ă´ roll paradox that bands can break their necks in the name of rock âÄònâĂ„Ă´ roll while onlookers stand idly by, arms crossed, eyes scanning the floor. In the case of local up-and-coming âĂ„Ăşdance-punkâĂ„Ăą trio Chelsea Boys, who are releasing their debut, New Tectonics- produced EP in early August, the crowd doesnâĂ„Ă´t really have an option. The group shatters the fourth wall with punk rock dynamite by dancing in the middle of the crowd, spraying sweat left and right and perhaps poking you with a guitar. The band is determined to spread that attitude across the United States with a nation-wide tour this August. âĂ„ĂşWeâĂ„Ă´re excited to bring Minneapolis music to other cities, and hopefully representing it in a positive way,âĂ„Ăą said guitarist/vocalist Hunter Morley. âĂ„ĂşWith a lot of bands IâĂ„Ă´m almost embarrassed for them to go out of town,âĂ„Ăą Morley added. âĂ„ĂşI donâĂ„Ă´t wanna say any names.âĂ„Ăą As for the music? WeâĂ„Ă´re talking about a sexual maelstrom. Drummer Jacques ClarkâĂ„Ă´s piledriving beats steadily punch you in the gut, as Josh AtwoodâĂ„Ă´s keys rub you down and MorleyâĂ„Ă´s guitar comes from behind and donkey punches your skull. ItâĂ„Ă´s a splash of Nintendo, a dollop of cocaine, a sprinkle of Black Flag and an ocean of sex. To call it âĂ„Ăşdance-punkâĂ„Ăą is to short change the experience. Perhaps Atwood himself put it best in calling it âĂ„Ăşsweat on tape.âĂ„Ăą Chelsea Boys are not the type of group who do standstill reenactments of their recordings on stage. Their live shows are balls-to-the-wall, greasy sexhibitions of flailing guitars, whirling limbs, discarded shirts and unbuttoned pants. Or, as Atwood put it, âĂ„Ăşsweat in real life.âĂ„Ăą âĂ„ĂşAfter watching so many bands and being bored watching them, we do what we would wanna watch,âĂ„Ăą Morley said. âĂ„ĂşThereâĂ„Ă´s a lot of great bands, but the live shows are generally uninspired. We donâĂ„Ă´t like to stand still at rock shows.âĂ„Ăą Apparently, they donâĂ„Ă´t like to stand still or act with caution in real life either. MorleyâĂ„Ă´s leg is in a cast from rocking a drunken ollie flip, and Clark broke both his elbows tumbling down a roof in his roofing job. But itâĂ„Ă´ll take a punk rock plague to keep the Boys off the road. âĂ„ĂşWeâĂ„Ă´ll just come up with a whole new performance,âĂ„Ăą Atwood said. In the world of Chelsea Boys, there is no Injury Reserve, just Steel Reserve.
New noise: Chelsea Boys
Minneapolis’ shirtless synth-punkers will take on the nation with their ferociously sexual live performances this August.
by Mark Brenden
Published July 27, 2010
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