Words: ROBIN MUMFORD
Back in 2021, upon the release of The Chase’s blockbuster new single “Set The World To Rights”, I spoke about the fact the Nottingham-based band were no amateurs to the music scene. This, while simultaneously heaping praise on how far they had already come since fusing together their sounds at the age of pre-teens, led me to believe they still had such a high ceiling, a lot to prove.
Certainly, it was their best release to date. There’s no denying the quality was there. But my hypothesis remains true. Their ceiling is high, and with the release of their EP ‘Bonzo Bonanza’, they have come closer to reaching it.
While “Not The F*cking Game Show” gave an honest, gritty taste of navigating your early 20s, bringing with it the energy and galvanism you would expect with such topics, the five new tracks presented in the latest EP refine those sounds and dress up the young angst in a mature gift wrap that shows the evolution of their work.
But if you are expecting them to strip back their mercurial wisdom to take the easy route, you’d be wrong. Instead, they expand their sound. Lyrically, they still probe unusual topics like dad’s with bad knees and circus animals.
It is by way of their ethereal sonic they triumph in this collection. From the bazaar of sounds in the title opener that give rise to memories of the fair to the dramatic, confrontational undertones of ‘Ballon d’Or’, there is a clear reach to genres beyond the band’s capabilities just two years ago when I last reviewed their music.
Like a kid given loads of new toys on their birthday, The Chase have discovered a whole new range of tools in their latest instalment. The world is their oyster, and with that realisation, alongside the freedom of blurring the lines between genres, they have opened a new page in their story to become ever closer to reaching that ceiling they have had since their pre-teens.
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