Villanelle Turn Up the Noise on “Some Chew Lip”
by Lauren Chenette
Villanelle are back with “Some Chew Lip,” and if you were thinking the band might return quietly after a very busy year, well… think again.
The new single sees the UK four-piece leaning further into the scrappy, high-energy, garage-rock side of their sound. It’s loud, bouncy, and gloriously restless, with a driving rhythm section, elastic bass, and guitars that seem determined to keep the whole thing moving at a slightly dangerous pace. There’s very little standing still here, and that’s exactly the point.
At the heart of “Some Chew Lip” is a wonderfully uncomplicated sense of fun. The track doesn’t appear particularly interested in overthinking itself, instead, it throws you straight into its momentum and lets the chaos do the talking. There’s something affectionately chaotic about the whole thing, capturing the troublemaker energy that makes for a surprisingly good rock song. It’s playful, a little scruffy around the edges, and makes you want to listen on loop.
Musically, it feels like a natural progression from Villanelle’s debut EP, Measly Means. The grungier edges remain, but there’s a looseness and bounce here that gives the track an especially immediate quality. It’s scruffy without being sloppy, catchy without feeling overly polished, and energetic without becoming exhausting. In other words, it’s exactly the sort of song that makes you want to move before you’ve really had time to decide whether you’re going to.
That live-ready quality is perhaps the biggest strength of “Some Chew Lip.” After a packed summer of shows, Villanelle sound like a band increasingly comfortable with making a glorious racket and having a laugh while they do it. You can practically picture the sweaty venue, the crowd bouncing along, and somebody inevitably losing a shoe somewhere in the pit.
Ultimately, “Some Chew Lip” is messy in all the right ways, it’s noisy, cheeky, ridiculously energetic, and a whole lot of fun. Villanelle sound like they’re having a very good time, and luckily, they’ve made it very easy for everyone else to join in.
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