Since emerging in 2019, Chalk have wasted no time in establishing their footing and defining their sound. From the outset, they delivered a steady stream of musically compelling and well-produced electronic rock singles. Across their three EPs to date, they took the time to flesh out and refine their sound so that, by the time of Crystalpunk, their debut album, they were ready to present a standalone piece of work with a clear sense of identity.
The Belfast-based duo (composed of Ross Cullen on vocals and Benedict Goddard on guitar and synths) craft a seamless amalgam of electronic, punk, rock, and dance/techno influences. Both modern and nostalgic, the final sound pulls from elements of the 80s and 90s with an overall contemporary style. Crystalpunk is an ambitious and meticulously produced record, bolstered by the names of producers such as Chris Ryan and Ross Cullen, mixed by Scott Desmarais (Post Malone, Lizzo, blink-182), and mastered by Chris Gehringer (Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga, Rihanna).
It jumpstarts itself aggressively immediately upon opening, breaking itself apart at the start of “Tongue” and then galloping into a galvanising beat, with serrating guitar riffs and cathartic vocals, and a brutalist industrial-rock sound similar to Gilla Band’s discography.
“Longer” finds the band leaning back into their traditional rock roots, driven by a tempestuous, propulsive beat that evolves into dissolution by its finish. One of the record’s hookiest moments, its chorus deploys sounds nostalgic of alt-rock textures of the mid-2010s.
“Skem” follows the gentle interlude “Eclipse”, and plunges straight into a fussilading track that wastes no time building momentum. With heavy industrial beats redolent of Author and Punisher’s equipment and style, Chalk re-enter with a pulverising dance beat that takes you into a strobing underground. Its abrasiveness and insistent urgency are paradoxically calming, occupying your ear so intensely, little else can intrude. Both lulling and destructive, “Skem” carries an urbane quality with its rawness.
Positioned as a sort of penultimate denouement, “Béal Feirste” brings the tensions of the album to a climax, emerging as its most weighty and politically charged track. Named after the Irish for Belfast, the nearly eight-minute track grounds the intensity of the album in a more explicit cultural and geographical context.
“Ache” closes the album like an afterthought, and chugs along like a futuristic synth train, whispering its melody quietly into your headphones, “goodmorning, I wake up and kiss your bones,” a tentative closing lullaby to the electronic rock album.
The album in totality cultivates a sense of safety within its restlessness, finding comfort in the frenetic, thrashing sounds of rock escapism threaded with elements of ethereal electronics. It hardly takes time to come up for air and steers clear of any empty spaces. A sound ultimately unique to Chalk, Crystalpunk is a sensationally realized work, laced with tastes of madness, both cultural and individual.
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