Belfast post-punk/electronic maestros Chalk share ferocious new single ‘Tongue’ marking the final release from the group’s forthcoming debut album Crystalpunk set for release 13 March via ALTER Music.
Rooted in the experience of growing up in the North of Ireland, a place where national identity has never been simple, Crystalpunk encapsulates the beauty, confusion, complexity, and intensity of the duo’s youth. Under the shadow and around the scars of conflict, and entangled in the living and breathing hybrid of industrial dance punk encoded in the record’s DNA, Crystalpunk showcases a band flying a flag for their generation.
Partnering with NYC headquartered label ALTER Music for their debut album release, Chalk have already shared lead singles ‘Pain’, ‘Can’t Feel It’ and ‘I.D.C.’ to widespread acclaim, with multiple appearances on the BBC 6 Music playlist (B-List & C-List) and their second KEXP session to kickstart 2026 in style. Primed for a mammoth twelve months, the group will play SXSW before their biggest UK and Ireland headline tour yet in April (including dates at London’s iconic Electric Ballroom on 23 April and a hometown show at Limelight on 16 May), before a busy summer gets underway on the festival circuit as they capitalise on previous supports with peers in Fontaines D.C., IDLES and Sprints.
Chalk are spearheaded by award-winning musicians and filmmaker duo Ross Cullen and Benedict Goddard, and Cullen shares the following on ‘Tongue‘:
“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.”
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), CHALK’s ‘Tongue’ is out now via ALTER Music.
Chalk Live Dates
March
12 – 19 – SXSW (USA)
25 – Treefort, Idaho (USA)
April
10 – Botanique Rotonde, Brussels (BEL)
11 – Trabendo, Paris (FRA)
13 – L’Amperage, Grenoble (FRA)
15 – Santeria Toscana, Milan (ITA)
16 – Bogen F, Zurich (CH)
18 – Lido, Berlin (GER)
20 – Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam (NL)
22 – The Fleece, Bristol (UK)
23 – Electric Ballroom, London (UK)
24 – Gorilla, Manchester (UK)
25 – The Wardrobe, Leeds (UK)
May
14 – The Arts School, Glasgow (UK)
15 – The Button Factory, Dublin (IRE)
16 – Limelight, Belfast (NI)
20 – Bearded Theory, Derbyshire (UK)
June
13 – God Save The Kouign Festival, Penmarc’h (FRA)
August
26 – Custom House Square, Belfast (w/ IDLES) (UK)
For more information on Chalk please check their facebook and instagram.