CHALK arrive fully formed. The Belfast post-punk and electronic duo have released “Tongue,” the final single from their debut album ‘Crystalpunk,’ out now via ALTER Music, and it’s a track with an origin story as compelling as the song itself.
Vocalist and producer Ross Cullen explains: “For the demo, I sang the opening few lines of the song on my earphones microphone and that take made it to the final version. I had to whisper because my girlfriend was sleeping beside me. There was something ominous about the track and felt like it would be the beginning of something. I played the intro to Ben and it felt like a ‘Eureka’ moment for us and felt like we had accidentally taken care of the opening track for the album without thinking too hard about it.”
That spontaneous energy runs through everything CHALK do. Spearheaded by Ross Cullen (vocals, production) and Benedict Goddard (guitar, synth), the duo blend industrial dance, electronic textures, and raw post-punk into something that has drawn comparisons to Nine Inch Nails while remaining entirely their own. NME calls it “a sheer bombardment of energy.” Rolling Stone UK calls it “unrivalled.” Annie Mac put it more directly: “I’ve basically never seen anything like it before.”
‘Crystalpunk’ is rooted in the experience of growing up in the North of Ireland, a place where national identity has never been simple. The record encapsulates beauty, confusion, and intensity in equal measure, with industrial dance punk baked into its DNA. Lead singles “Pain,” “Can’t Feel It,” and “I.D.C.” have already landed on the BBC 6 Music playlist and earned CHALK their second KEXP session.
“Tongue” was produced by Chris Ryan (NewDad, Enola Gay, Just Mustard) and Ross Cullen, mixed by Scott Desmarais (Post Malone, Lizzo, blink-182), and mastered by Chris Gehringer (Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga, Rihanna). The production pedigree alone signals how seriously everyone involved is taking this record.
CHALK head into a massive spring and summer, with SXSW already under their belt, a full UK and Ireland headline tour running through May, festival appearances including Bearded Theory and God Save The Kouign, and a headline slot at Custom House Square in Belfast supporting IDLES in August.
‘Crystalpunk’ Track Listing:
- Tongue
- Pain
- Can’t Feel It
- Longer
- One-Nine-Eight-Zero
- Eclipse
- Skem
- I.D.C.
- Béal Feirste
- Ache
2026 Tour Dates:
May 14 – Glasgow, UK @ The Arts School
May 15 – Dublin, IRE @ The Button Factory
May 16 – Belfast, NI @ Limelight
May 20 – Derbyshire, UK @ Bearded Theory
Jun 13 – Penmarc’h, FRA @ God Save The Kouign Festival
Aug 26 – Belfast, UK @ Custom House Square (with IDLES)