Chap / Well Done Europe

Lo Recordings

London- and Berlin-based modern pop group The Chap began life at the beginning of the last decade. In their quest to create music that "sounds wrong," they predate the current craze for lo-fi prog-pop by several years; fans can't believe how a band that revels in multilayered detachment could dive headlong into the realms of hard rock 'n' roll immediacy, so their reputation as one of the most exciting, challenging and engaging live acts around is well earned. After two seminal bedroom-produced albums, The Horse and Ham--the latter garnering acclaim from Errol Alkan, Kissy Sellout and The Wire--The Chap delivered Mega Breakfast, which features corporate-style motivational anthems about "proper music" and wanting to clone oneself. Despite being lauded by Pitchfork and many others, commercial success and world domination eluded The Chap, so they finally decided to "sell out" by recording the collection of pop classics that constitute their fourth album Well Done Europe. Needless to say, this hit-after-hit masterpiece sounds like the coolest new wave pop album ever recorded by a group of teachers (though almost nobody in The Chap is a teacher). The Chap marries a deep passion for pop culture with arch observation and a sense of the surreal. Their unique and heady blend of taut, hideously catchy melodies, hip-shaking rhythms and memorable but unconventional lyrics is cut through with a wry sense of humor that some might describe as "Dadaist." Witness the frenetic, summery vibes of "Even Your Friend," the shimmering, tightly wound grooves in "Nevertheless, The Chap" and the chugging, intimate closer "Chalet Chalet." Well Done Europe is The Chap at the pinnacle of their powers--their finest work yet.

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