London punks Chubby and the Gang embrace the agony and ecstasy of love on their new Valentine’s Day track, “Who Loves Ya (Coup d’état).” The song appears on a new three-track EP, Labour of Love, which is out digitally Monday, Feb. 14, while a special picture disc seven-inch is available to preorder.
“Who Loves Ya” opens with a blown-out, ear-splitting guitar riff, but soon settles into a crunchy, tambourine-shaking boogie, with frontman Charlie “Chubby” Manning Walker bellowing, “And yet I want it and nothing else no more/My hearts in a coup d’état’/It must be love.” The song also arrives with a music video filled with on-stage and behind-the-scenes footage of Chubby and the Gang; the clip was directed by the group’s tour manager Ted Foster.
In a statement, Manning Walker said “Who Loves Ya” came about specifically because the band wanted to do a Valentine’s Day single: “I sort of wanted to show all the angles of love. Warts and all. Quite often it’s not such a smooth experience. Can often feel scary and insane. So I wanted to write a bubblegum song about it but also show the duality of the emotion.”
The Labour of Love EP — which also features “Twice Shy” and “Ain’t There No One” — follows Chubby and the Gang’s second album, The Mutt’s Nuts, which was released last year. The group recently wrapped a U.K. tour opening for the celebrated hardcore outfit Turnstile, and they’re set to announce a headlining U.S. tour soon.
From Rolling Stone US
