EP Review: CH3 – The Bellwether

CH3, those stalwart survivors of the early 1980’s SoCal punk scene, are set to return with the surprise release of a brand new five song EP, The Bellwether, that will be released on April 13th on coloured vinyl via Hostage Records and will be in stores for Record Store Day 2019, The Bellwether EP will of course also be available on digital and CD formats. The quintet of songs have emerged some 38 years after their debut EP on the legendary Posh Boy Records, and in homage to their roots the EP has tribute label artwork that mirrors the Posh Boy Records flag.

It’s clear that CH3 haven’t forgotten where they came from, What You Need is a blast of old school US hardcore that gives you exactly what the title says, the EP’s title track slips back into the bruising punk rock style of 2017’s Put ‘Em Up. At the mid way point we get Mendiolas 1983, the band’s debut instrumental, which is an unexpected and jaunty upbeat slice of cow punk that wouldn’t sound out of place as the soundtrack to an old school movie car chase. The EP rounds out in fine style with Blackballed, an outsider anthem that is the perfect track to follow up Mendiolas 1983 with it’s blend of elements from punk rock and cow punk and finally we get How Long Will It Take? a track that takes us back into the bruising punk rock territory and closes The Bellwether EP perfectly.

CH3 picks up exactly where 2017’s Put ‘Em Up left off, the mix of hardcore and straight up punk rock, along with the somewhat unexpected mid point intermission of Mendiolas 1983, shows that CH3 have lost none of their edge, it also demonstrates that old dogs can learn new tricks and that they still can still deliver a savage bite. The Bellwether EP shows that even after almost four decades CH3 are still proudly flying the punk rock flag in the name of their past, present and future.

The Bellwether EP can be pre-ordered on CD and vinyl here