The Graft – Chirpse
Release Date: 6th October 2023
Camden, London over the years has been one of the true musical hotbeds in the world. Whether it’s new bands coming out from there or the obscene amount of venues in the area, there’s always something fresh and exciting happening and it’s helps growing up with all of that inspiration around. Enter The Graft, an indie band bringing a tonne of inspiration from the past few decades of music and stirring it up with a modern twist.
Chirpse is the story of one man’s search for companionship (chirpse = flirting) around the bustling, yet lonesome, streets of London and it brings with it elements of indie and punk through the years, combining the emphatic energy of punk, the more reserved indie elements and the entertaining tales the tracks are based on.
Kicking us off with track one (obviously) of ten is ‘On The Chirpse/Birkenstock’, a track primarily focusing on one man’s desire for someone in a certain brand of sandles and what appears to be a mild obsession that grows. The track sets the scene for the remainder of the album nicely. A focus on vocals and a beat you can move too gets the party going and that’s pretty much where things stay for the next 9 songs.
One of the standouts from the ten songs is the changeable ‘Jenny’, a song about a girl from North West 1 it seems. ‘Jenny’ that feels like a great opportunity to get some audience participation on the go, the chorus ripe for a good old singalong at the very least. Quite the opposite is the slower, punk-ballad-sequel ‘Brokenhearted’. A track that that sees more emotional vocals brought out.
‘It’s Too Late & It’s Ok’ brings the most energetic intro to the fore, a heavy guitar riff clangs in and the mid point of the piece arrives with some Iggy Pop inspired vocals thrown in. ‘Don’t Mean Much’ takes us back to the 70s initially, musically and vocally and has another one of those catchy as hell choruses.
As the end of the album starts to approach there are a couple of gems left. The intro of ‘Ritzy’ bringing a bit of fuzz in and ‘Dead To Me’ the penultimate track showcasing the most expansive drumming on the album, being the funkiest track that’s out there for sure.
At ten tracks, Chirpse is a really good insight to a new band and a fun 35 minutes or so. Yes it’s heavily invested in a punky vibe with some raw tracks on there, but that’s part of the fun and part of the charm. They’re bound to gig the hell out of this so if you’re in London or fancy seeing them, get on down to a date. It’ll be worth it!