Belfast duo Chalk are wasting no time after their debut album Crystalpunk. Their new double single Heaven / Hell, released on 20 October via ALTER Music, takes the electronic post-punk outfit into another intriguing chapter.
Heaven features Sarah Barthel of Phantogram alongside producer cosign, while Hell forms the darker counterpart. Rather than treating the songs as two unrelated releases, Chalk have built a connected visual world around them.
Two tracks, one strange world
A double-feature video, directed by Chalk’s Benedict Goddard, plays with the idea of fallen angels and the territory between heaven and hell. There is also an interactive microsite with branching paths and hidden material. It is an ambitious way of presenting two new songs at a time when so many singles arrive and disappear almost instantly.
We were not completely won over by Crystalpunk, awarding it 6/10 in our original album review. But that makes this next move more interesting, not less: Chalk remain a band prepared to push their sound and presentation somewhere distinctive.
A major stage with Fontaines D.C.
We have also followed Fontaines D.C. closely, including our Dopamine Chamber album review and their CALM Roundhouse performance. The release coincides with Chalk joining Fontaines D.C. as support on their UK and European arena tour. UK dates include Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham and London in November. Those rooms offer a serious opportunity to introduce Chalk’s abrasive blend of guitars and electronics to a much wider audience.
Whether these songs point towards a broader new direction remains to be seen. What is clear is that Chalk are not standing still.
