Review: We Showed Them, Didn’t We by Chas Palmer-Williams

Chas Palmer-Williams, lead singer from noughties ska-punk legends Lightyear, is back with an exceptional 5 song EP, released in November 2010. While Chas is no stranger to Rebellion, playing old classics to swarms of fans alongside his latest material, I must admit this release on Ashes Records went under my radar until recently. The record is largely acoustic, with cheeky synth and piano parts (which don’t get in the way), and shout-along choruses sung by friends and family. His lyrics are full of the sharp witty observation, tinged with schoolboy humour that we know and love from its previous incarnations. Chas reveals his geeky side singing about old-school video games in ‘Haggar for Mayor’ and even Warhammer in ‘I Feel Like a Million Zimbabwean Dollars’. ‘The Good Charlatans’ critiques the commodification of punk rock as Iggy Pop and Johnny Rotten grace our TV screens to flaunt insurance and butter respectively, while Chas reminisces and champions the DIY ethic at the heart of the scene. And ‘Now you’ve got the Midlands Maddest Man’ is a touching social commentary on the effects of the recession on Chas’s old stomping grounds in Derby. Above all, Chas is sincere and offers an earnest collection of songs on issues which matter most to him, delivered with brutal punk honesty. The latest news is that Chas is writing new material as well as gathering members for his new band. I can’t wait.


We Showed Them, Didn’t We is available to download on Chas’s Bandcamp page for £3 (all proceeds go the national dyslexia association) and you can follow him on Twitter @Chaswad for all his latest news.