Messed!Up
Belonging to the growing realm of acts that play a kind of pulsating dance music blended with edgy chordal guitar noise, Belfast act Chalk also sit on the cusp of traditional guttural guitar acts and vibrant, visual club performers. The three-piece, made up of Ross Cullen, Benedict Goddard, and Luke Niblock, are originally from Dublin but met during film school at Queen’s University, Belfast, and graduated from playing around with covers of Courtney Barnett and The Strokes, to a flying launch of their own sound.
Their music blends industrial punk and techno with influences from bands like IDLES and Daniel Avery, and their sound is highly visual, incorporating their filmmaking background into their music videos.
The band released “Them” in March 2022, winning Steve Lamacq’s career-launching RoundTable on cult BBC music station 6Music. This led to very early shows taking place to packed rooms at events like Brighton’s showcase The Great Escape, something of a marker of industry potential. With doors firmly opened, “Them” became a calling card, bleak in tone and throbbing, almost oppressive in the way it dynamically builds. Since then, they have released a series of EPs, including Conditions (2023), Conditions II (2024), and the upcoming Conditions III (2025).
In April next year, they pop over to the mainland to play a show in Berlin.
GIG DATE
- 18 April at Lido, Berlin
