Since forming in 2019 between four faces from local punk circles, Shove have spent as much time as they’ve physically been able to pummelling audiences around Melbourne with their no-holds-barred sonic barrages. Today they’ve shared a first taste from their forthcoming 7” EP, and although it’s not quite their debut release - the four-piece shared the searing ‘No Through Road’ in early 2020 followed by the pandemic-themed ‘Non Essential Citizen’ months later - ‘Chopper’ feels like the band’s most definitive statement yet.

Led by a pummelling bassline, the track erupts open into a wall of noise as dirt-encrusted guitars and tunnel-vision drums snipe from all angles. While there’s a thick layer of grit dousing the entire track, it’s not enough to contain Bella Krajnec’s ruthless vocals, her explosive yelp cutting through the chaos as the song heaves around her. It’s not entirely easy to make sense of anything going on across the relentless 90 second runtime - whether that’s Bella’s charged lyrics or which way the band’s volatile outbursts are steering the track - but there’s still plenty to grip onto (albeit with white knuckles) as ‘Chopper’ powers on; so all there is to really do is hold on for dear life and let Shove call the shots.

Speaking about the track, Bella explains, “‘Chopper’ is the (until now) untold story of a group of fallen angels brought together by their mutual tendency toward corruption to form an outlaw bikey gang. They spend their time auctioning off the souls of unassuming humans and doing other generally dodgy stuff. You know, something we can all relate to. Featuring a mild lyrical ode to Mark E Smith whose unwavering dismissal of James Murphy on stage at the Tivoli in Utrecht circa 2013 comes to mind every time I sing the second verse. Note the very loose application of the word ‘verse’ here. It’s barely two lines.”