Emerging from the post-punk angst of Fontaines DC, Grian Chatten’s Chaos For The Fly marks the beginning of a new era for the artist exploring an unfamiliar sound. Priya Joshi explores the mellowed, muted and sombre pivot that the Irishman has taken: ‘This is no season for loving.’

This album feels human. Chatten embodies the struggles of inhabitants in a coastal Irish town,
tackling “the bitterness of lives not lived”. Reflecting on the album as a whole, I think Chatten
succeeds in this. Each song feels like a microscopic insight into the emotions and experiences of the
characters he focalises. Yet, the presence of Chatten’s own experiences seem to be embedded in
every song, laying a personal foundation through which to explore the inner worlds of a cross-
section of Irish smalltown life.
Chaos For the Fly is an acoustic-based album, introduced with The Score. A soothing embrace into
its mellow sound, Chatten’s harmonies warm the undercurrent of his solemn lyrics. However,
Chatten proves that this album will not restrict itself to acoustics. He incorporates synthesised beats
to undercut the acoustic, echoing a similar, modern sound to Radiohead’s In Rainbows.
"It’s no secret that Chaos For The Fly is a stark contrast from the popular sound of Fontaines DC, but this should not be seen as a negative, but in fact – the opposite."
Whereas Bob’s Casino acts as a refreshing palate cleanser, an anomaly amongst the other
melancholy tracks. We are welcomed into the song with a 1950s-style brass and violin composition.
The level of attention paid to the orchestral arrangements in each song is one of the most
outstanding features of this album. The opening of Bob’s Casino feels reminiscent of a soundtrack to
an old Hollywood film, invoking sultry glamour through the crooning masculine and feminine duet.
The anaphoric verse ‘You could talk about love’ is delivered by the most ethereal featuring voice
contrasting Grian’s low pitch, which is repeated in a few other tracks - a really nice addition.
Track 5, All Of The People is a melancholic commentary on society and the relationships we form
within it. Opening with slow piano chords, the musicality foregrounds Grian’s reflections of our
mundane reality – ‘People are scum’. Speaking on the album, Chatten reflects on his own feelings, at
a time where he felt “hatred and bitterness and anger”. He says, “There are times when I’m not
feeling great, and I think a lot of people experience this, where there becomes a real loss of faith in
humanity - There’s a masochistic ecstasy to that isolation.” This song encompasses just that, and
listeners can take comfort in that this is not an alien feeling, it is something that even Chatten
experiences himself.
Concluding the album, Season For Pain is the summit of the narrative within Chaos For The Fly. A
simple guitar riff is established at the beginning of the song, which is repeated throughout,
cushioning the despondent lyrics, ‘This is no season for loving – This is the season for pain.’ The final
minute of the song takes a twist, breaking the continuity of the acoustics to funky synthesised noise.
Chatten sings through vocal reverb as his voice fades out in discordant sounds.
It’s no secret that Chaos For The Fly is a stark contrast from the popular sound of Fontaines DC, but
this should not be seen as a negative, but in fact – the opposite. Co-producer Dan Carey states that
“this is the most poetic we’ve heard yet from Chatten” and I couldn’t agree more. Chatten delivers a poetic performance embedded within the acoustic melodies that flow through each song. There is
something so enchanting about the style that Chatten has created within this album. I look forward
to seeing how Chatten continues to develop his unique sound in his solo career – he is one to look
out for!
Priya Joshi
Edited by: Ali Glen
Chaos For The Fly is out now on Partisan Records.
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