The Chap

Mega Breakfast (Ghostly International/Lo)

By Leah Urbom
Published: August 26th, 2008 | 9:00am

Just a quick glance at the album cover — one of Jeff Koons’ giant balloon-dog statues with sprinkles on its nose — tells anyone that the Chap’s Mega Breakfast will be a trip. The North London band is comprised of vocalists Claire Hope (keyboard), Keith Duncan (drums), Panos Ghikas (bass, violin, computer), and Johannes Von Weizsäcker (guitar, cello, computer). Now on their third full-length, Mega Breakfast is the first American release, via Ghostly International.

The great thing about Mega Breakfast is that it maintains a great sense of humor and adventure across the board: Like on the operatic rock song “Fun and Interesting,” when the group chants, “Come on come on cloner / Clone me another me / My generation / Needs another me,” and in the frenzied staccatos of “Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley.”

Several tunes, like “Caution Me” and “Wuss Wuss,” are comprised of as few as four or eight lines. The Chap manages to keep ears piqued (despite the repetition and predictable rhymes) with a mixed bag of accents ranging from computer-generated noise to violin and cello to clarinet. Even considering the genre and production techniques, these elements give some tracks a calming presence (“Take It In the Face,” “The Health Of Nations”) versus more abrupt songs (“They Have a Name,” “Ethnic Instrument,” “Proper Rock”).

Taking full advantage of their electro-rock style tag, there’s a considerably heavier amount of guitar play and alternative influences over their more-than-obvious contemporaries (Hot Chip, Fujiya & Miyagi) — the Chap manages to distinguish itself as a discernable entity in the class, and Mega Breakfast is a marked progression for the group.

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