A glance at Chas Leman’s Instagram profile reveals a rather witty and observant individual. He’s correcting and criticising Jim Ratcliffe on one of his latest posts (rightly so), a choice that speaks volumes about the authentic, honest artistry championed by the project. While others might see music as escapism, a refuge from chaos and daily life, Leman instead makes it his whole universe, a sponge-like endeavour where popular culture meets political reflection, a space that’s meant to grow and modulate with the times, as well as with Chas’ own sensibility. Taken at face value, such a creative ethos perfectly tracks with Leman’s latest releases.
If last year’s album ‘Wish The Clock Would Go Back’ embraced a keen organic allure, thanks to 70s-leaning pop-folk arrangements and a certain nostalgic flair, its EP-shaped follow-up ‘REPETITIVE STRAIN’ turns Leman’s attention towards punchier electronic production and early ‘2000s influences. This could be seen as a sharp course correction by the unsuspecting listener, but that’s just Chas Leman in a nutshell. He’s an artist on the move, a maker that enjoy growth and purpose. He uses the best tool for the job, and for a musical critique of a rotten, boring reality, what’s better than noughties-inspired sonic charge?
Evoking his inner Gorillaz, the London-based troubadour is seen jumping into playful indie-pop territories with both feet. As evidence of that, we can report that EP opener ‘WASHING MACHINE WEEK’ possesses a peculiar similarity to ‘On Melancholy Hill’, especially from a production standpoint. ‘THE GOOD LIFE?’ and ‘THIS IS LIFE.’ have previously served as singles, leaving ‘THE REAL WORLD’ as the record’s second newcomer.
Delving deeper into the ethos behind the EP, Leman explains: “It’s more like a celebration of the resilience and adaptability we have as humans. Most of us have our dreams and our talents taken away from us at a criminally early age, yet we roll with the punches and adapt to a life of banality and keep on keeping on. Most of us are unhappy in what we spend the majority of our days doing, but I think the animalistic survival mentality in us keeps us going and motivated, which I suppose is very handy for the ruling class …but there you go!”
Recommended! Discover ‘REPETITIVE STRAIN’ now: