Early in 2020, the London punks Chubby And The Gang came out with Speed Kills, their absolutely blistering debut album. That LP was a word-of-mouth sensation, and it turned a DIY street-punk project from a bunch of UK hardcore-scene veterans into a straight-up buzz band. After signing with Partison, Chubby And The Gang released their ferocious single “Lightning Don’t Strike Twice” last month. That song was the A-side of a forthcoming new 7″ single. That 7″ is out today, which means we get to hear the B-side. It’s a pretty serious left turn for this band.

Chubby And The Gang had already established a pretty adaptable sound — one that drew on power-pop, oi, hardcore, pub-rock, and that old time a-rock ‘n’ roll, among other things. But they always sounded hard, even when they were singing a tender acoustic dedication to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. So it’s pretty surprising to hear that they just dropped a dang love ballad.

“Life’s Lemons,” the new Chubby And The Gang song, is a dang love ballad. It’s a twinkly slow-dance number that recalls dewy-eyed late-’50s and early-’60s teenage-devotion hymns. All through the song, it seems like things are about to turn over and they’re about to play fast and start growling, but it never happens. Instead, we get Chubby Charles at his most sensitive. Listen below.

“Lightning Don’t Strike Twice” b/w “Life’s Lemons” is out now on Partisan.