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14 track compilation from Swiss punk and bubblegum indie pop band Chin-Chin. This compilation features the unreleased four track Janice Long Session recorded for the BBC from 1988 which includes songs only heard on the broadcast plus tracks from the Stop Your Crying! 12” from 1986 a selection from the classic Sound of the Westway LP from 1985 and two tracks from the We Don’t Wanna Be Prisoners 7” from 1984. Formed in 1982 in Biel Switzerland Chin-Chin are a group that sits perfectly next to the Ramones, 60’s Girl Groups, The Shop Assistants and Blondie. The sound is instant urgent and with choruses that stick in your head for days, weeks and years. The songs are perfectly produced and have aged like a fine wine.
The LP comes with an insert featuring photos handouts and archive.
Our take: I’m not sure what my official “song of the summer” for 2023 is, but I am 100% certain it’s on this brilliant retrospective album from Switzerland’s Chin-Chin. Sealed Records dropped Cry in Vain early in July, not quite the beginning of the summer, but early enough for the album to provide the soundtrack as I made my way up and down the US’s east coast several times this summer, its propulsive beats and huge melodies keeping me awake and alert on late night drives with the windows down and the stereo blasting. Chin-Chin is so good that it makes me wonder how, after over two decades of being a total music fanatic who adores high-energy pop songs, I hadn’t come across them before. The group started in Switzerland in 1982, taking inspiration from the poppy punk of the Ramones, Generation X, and Blondie and melding that sound with the sweet harmonies of 60s girl groups. While their bio notes the members’ lack of experience, you’d never know it from listening to Cry in Vain… not only is the playing powerful and confident but also the band displays a total mastery of pop song craft. Each song is a masterpiece, so immediate you wonder if you’ve heard it before, but with enough sophistication and tact you can play it over and over without losing any impact (and trust me, I’ve played these songs a LOT!). While Chin-Chin predated the UK’s wave of punky pop referred to as the C86 scene (with bands like the Shop Assistants, the Pastels, and the Rosehips), that crowd fell in love with the still-active group, and 1987 saw a Chin-Chin compilation released on the seminal label 53rd and 3rd. Chin-Chin also recorded a 4-song BBC session with host Janice Long in 1988, and those tracks appear here for the first time… so even if you’re cooler than me and you already own every Chin-Chin record, you’ll still need Cry in Vain for those songs. I’d call the BBC session tracks highlights, but Cry in Vain is a record that’s all highlights, with nary a moment that doesn’t directly target my brain’s pop pleasure center.