Australian punks, The Chats, have released their catchy new single, ‘Identity Theft’ via their own label, Bargain Bin Records. Famed for their classic ‘Smoko’ video (that has now reached 7.5m views), the Queensland trio have been touring all over America this month to sold out crowds, including a stop in LA where Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, QOTSA’s  Josh Homme and Alex Turner and Matt Helders from Arctic Monkeys watched them play in front of 1000 people. 

‘Identity Theft’ "is about when you buy drugs on the internet and a hacker steals your credit card number and your identity," explains front man Eamon Sandwith. A story we can all relate to right?! Probably not, but The Chats’ new jam is garage punk in flavour and has more in common lyrically with a particular episode of Black Mirror, but you will have to check the lyrics yourself for confirmation on that. 

These beer-drinking, mullet-sporting, shed rockers are on a roll and will be heading to Reading & Leeds this August to play their debut UK festival live shows ahead of a full UK headline tour this winter that will end at The 02 Forum, London on December 14. Don’t miss them. 

 Nov 30th Brighton, Concorde 2 

Dec  1st  Oxford, 02 Academy 

Dec 2nd Norwich, Waterfront 

Dec 3rd Nottingham, Rescue Rooms 

Dec  4th Leeds, Brudenell Social Club 

Dec  5th Newcastle, Riverside 

Dec  6th Edinburgh, Summerhall 

Dec  7th Aberdeen, Lemon Tree 

Dec  9th Glasgow, Garage 

Dec  10th Manchester, 02 Ritz 

Dec  11th Birmingham, 02 Institute 

Dec 12th Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach 

Dec 13th Bristol, 02 Academy 

Dec  14th London, 02 Forum

This October the celebrated Indie Daze festival returns for a sixth sumptuous year with its biggest and most ambitious line-up to date. In the lead up to the main event, the hard working folk at Mute Elephant Music will be staging a four day residency at the legendary 100 Club, featuring acts including The Primitives, Thousand Yard Stare, Miles Hunt & Ericka Nockalls and The Frank and Walters, all backed by very special guests throughout the week. And once that’s suitably whetted appetites, Indie Daze will once again be returning to The Forum in Kentish Town on October 7 for a full day of indie delights: 1 stage, 1 day, 1 ticket, 7 bands.

Headlining the event, are seminal Northern Irish rockers Therapy?, performing a full set and bringing the curtains down on the most monstrous indie music celebration to ever grace the fine city of London. Fresh from touring Future Ruins, an album which details a band moving with real time and real life vitality, showcasing new tricks alongside classic hallmarks, Swervedriver join this year’s huge line up. The album exhibits Swervedriver’s fabled widescreen escapism, but combined with very real fears of the modern condition.

Illustrious electronic dance group Utah Saints have rather precariously walked the tightrope between genres and also between the underground and the mainstream.  Of course, it wouldn’t be Indie Daze without electro-rock pioneers Pop Will Eat Itself strutting their stuff. In 1987, Pop Will Eat Itself surprised the independent music world by morphing overnight from two minute, three chord indie pop wonders into hip-hop, rock crossover pioneers.

Also on the line up is Carter USM frontman and Indie Daze darling Jim Bob who has had a long and varied solo career outside of Carter; including seven albums – solo and with his disco pop punk band Jim’s Super Stereoworld.  Punk pop purveyors Back To The Planet have been playing irregular shows together following their 2006 reunion show in Camberwell.  Rounding off the line up are Hull indie rockers Kingmaker 4AD, who enjoyed a spell of commercial success in the early 1990s releasing five top 40 singles and four albums.

Tickets for the Indie Daze festival at The Forum are on sale now from SeeTickets and Ticketmaster.