Pitchfork

London sophisti-poppers the Chap actually comprise three chaps and one chapette. None of their names are Carlos, Walter, Wendy, or Stanley. From the band's Ghostly International debut and third album overall, Mega Breakfast (and also featured on the free Ghostly Swim comp), "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley" makes fidgety, minimalist post-punk ala Prinzhorn Dance School into something even more tumultuous and absurd, which may or may not have anything to do with electronic music innovator Wendy (formerly Walter) Carlos and director Stanley Kubrick. After male and female vocalists introduce the title characters-- "Walter/ Never graduated/ Ever"-- above synth pulses, guitar stabs, pitter-pattering percussion, and, well, some kind of boinging instrument, the vocals leap into double-time amid jagged guitars on a riotous chorus. "The chair was a disaster/ It was heavy, heavy, heavy," the Chap declare. Then creaky, Blur-esque guitar leads and exotic hey-hoo-ha chants befitting Jackie Treehorn's Malibu beach house arrive in time for the next verse. It's an eccentric tale set to music that's an interesting fit for the often electronic-oriented Ghostly. Pleasure to meet the old Chap-- "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley", too.

MP3:> The Chap: "Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley"
[from Mega Breakfast; due 07/01/08 on Ghostly International]