TRACK REVIEW: Charts & Graphs – Bulletproof

Bulletproof is the opening salvo from Newcastle trio Charts & Graphs’ upcoming fifth album and it hits like a jolt of anxious energy. The sound is urgent, bass-driven and almost impossible to sit still through. Infectious grooves pull you into a tense, twitchy rhythm; whilst it’s danceable, it’s also disorienting. Beneath the surface it grapples with contradictions, feeling invincible yet invisible, confident one moment and adrift the next. The whole song is a sonic tug-of-war between swagger and self-doubt, punctuated by odd TV quotes that only serve to confuse things further.

The band are clearly probing an uncomfortable space but that doesn’t always land effectively. For me, even more aggressive vocals would serve the song, and the band’s mutant post-punk sound, far better.