Chang - Not For The Faint-Hearted!
South Wales Argus
Date: Feb 2001,
Author: Matthew Blythe
If dancing with trains and general paranoia are your thing, then check out Newport's scariest band, Chang, who support In the S*** at Swansea's Beatbox tonight.
Chang hail from the dungeon of bands that profess: " If we've played and you ain't bleedin' - we ain't happy." Their relentless stripped-down, ripped-open punk has terrified audiences of a number of persuasions, including unwary casual clubber-types who foolishly wandered into the band's set in Sam's Bar, Cardiff, during Radio One's stint of gigs. On seeing the twisted form of the band's skinhead singer curled up on stage, screaming the mantra, Go Away! Go Away! They fled.
Chang mix Captain Beefheart with Fugazi, the intricacies of which were obviously lost on Cardiff's St Mary Street. They play choppy, zig-zag rhythms like Captain Beefheart, which can seem random at first, but a carefully sculptured soundscape is only a breath away. But it takes a determined, nay fearless listener to appreciate it because the band have a knack of making you feel unwelcome with the most terrifying barrage of industrial-type nightmares this side of Throbbing Gristle… and not a synth in sight. Highly recommended.
