Live Review + Gallery | Chalk @ Village Underground, London

Matt Wellham

After years of photographing and filming the London music scene, Matt’s now based in Sydney, Australia. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found in the grassroots venues, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.

Belfast-based three-piece Chalk arrived in London for the fifth night of their mammoth 24-stop spring tour of the UK, Ireland, and Europe

On a warm Thursday evening, Village Underground began to fill with an eclectic mix of punks and ravers, a combination that perfectly reflects Chalk’s music. The band have formed a unique blend of pulsing Dublin electronic beats, paired with the growl of Belfast post-punk guitars and vocals. Think IDLES meets Underworld.

At 9:30 pm, the lights drop into near-total darkness. ‘Leipzig 87’, the opening track from the band’s recent EP ‘Conditions III’, bursts into life, sending a wave of anticipation through the audience. Soft whispers creep out of the sound system, and the techno-esque bass thumps relentlessly. As the track reaches its conclusion, the band steps out to applause. They’ve barely set foot on stage before guitarist and synth player Ben Goddard tears into ‘Afraid’’s ruthless guitar riffs. Frontman Ross Cullen screams into life, his reverb-drenched vocals ricocheting around the old Victorian warehouse. Mosh pits open up, and the space is quickly transformed into an intimate East London punk den.

Keeping the energy high, Chalk work their way into fan-favourite single ‘Static’. The track’s themes of paranoia and anxiety bleeds into the live performance as Cullen writhes around the stage, waving the mic stand high above his head, conducting the swirling mosh pits before him. Drummer Luke Niblock explodes into action, his sticks flying around the kit as Cullen screams the closing lines: “I could’ve sworn that I’d cut the cord.”

Chalk have already proven themselves kings of post-punk within just three tracks, but as they lean into their electronic side mid-set, they completely shift the atmosphere of the venue. As they work through tracks like ‘Crawl’ and ‘Tell Me’, the techno-driven beats reverberate through the ground. Pulsing strobe lights flicker, creating a constant tension. On stage, Cullen bounces, swinging the microphone around by the cord, leaning out over the crowd, orchestrating the rave they’ve ignited. If you closed your eyes for a second and soaked in the atmosphere, you could easily believe you’d been transported to a Berlin basement club.

The three-piece are at their best when controlling the rise and fall of energy, as seen during ‘Them’. Here, the group take the crowd on a journey through intimate verses, with Cullen leaning over the speakers, within touching distance of the front row, speaking directly to them. What follows is an all-out assault on the senses. Goddard and Niblock thrive as they create an unrelenting wall of sound. The strobe lighting doubles in speed, illuminating the circle pits swirling in the newly formed opening of the crowd. Cullen falls to his knees, his voice raw as he screams the closing lines: “They never looked at me like that,” over and over. It’s moments like this that cement Chalk’s reputation as a visually distinctive band. Their monochromatic palette amplifies the music, and combined with their stage presence, it creates a spectacle no live music fan should miss.

Check out the rise and dip of energy on the track ‘Them‘ for yourself:

Over the course of three EPs, Chalk has carved out a sound and vision that feel completely fresh and unique to them. Put that sound and vision in a venue like Village Underground and it’s amplified tenfold in their live performances. If Chalk are in a town near you on this spring tour, I strongly recommend you grab a ticket and surrender yourself to the late-night post-punk rave.