LIVE FROM THE PIT: Chalk, Lemonsuckr and Slate

In the midst of their grand festival summer, in between major stops like Lollapalooza in the US and various European appearances, CHALK have blessed London with a one-off, but no less thought-through, headline show. The band brought along a well-curated line-up, including the Welsh post-punk collective SLATE and Brighton’s blistering four-piece LEMONSUCKR. Altogether, they lit up and packed out Electric Ballroom, leaving the audience with no room to stand still, but only to sway to the electronic beats and dance the night away.

Photo by Mariia Bulkina

Hailing from the heart of Cardiff, SLATE are not just your regular post-punk band, as their unique identity can be felt from the first glimpse of their performance. Jumping between throbbing rhythms of Tabernacl and St Agatha, the vocalist Jack rips his heart out, belting the never-ending choruses. Next thing we hear is a slow and quiet but incredibly soul-punching lament, with the voices of both Jack and the bassist Lauren intertwining into a beautiful song, possibly inspired by their Celtic roots. SLATE alternate between a couple of these brief interruptions that serve almost as a grounding mechanism, and their usual gritty upbeat tracks, that still have their time to shine and warm up the room for what’s next.

And what’s next is nothing if not a shock to the system, as LEMONSUCKR captivate our full attention from the mere moment they appear onstage. With only one EP out, they play as if they’re headlining a festival stage, firing out bangers after bangers like a pub kitchen. Having played Sedated and Instant Kinks, the singer goes into the middle of crowd on their third song, and pretty much stays among the audience for most of the set. The rest of the band follow suit, as the guitarists also take turns jumping in onto the dancefloor, or simply leaning over on the edge of the stage, as if they want to be as close to the action as physically possible. LEMONSUCKR continue to bring on the H.E.A.T., finishing off on the dark and spine-chilling Rugrat.

Photo by Mariia Bulkina

CHALK goes in with immense force right away, starting off with their album’s opening tracks Tongue, Pain and Can’t Feel It. The energy in the room rises rapidly, as the huge pit begins to open up in its centre, at times reaching almost the size of the venue itself. In the true fashion of 'crystalpunk', the duo plays on juxtapositions, with the singer Ross Cullen stood in front of us in bare flesh, bringing all of the attention on his spiky gloves as the centre piece. Meanwhile, his bandmate Benedict Hardie-Goddard is constantly switching gears between the heavy industrial synths and the electric guitar, which he of course also takes on a little walk with him into the centre of the crowd. CHALK pay equal attention both to their debut LP release Crystalpunk, and to the EP trilogy: Conditions I, II, and III. Tracks like Them and Pool Scene immerse us fully in a sort of trance, with the brilliant lighting work supporting the illusion. 

The Belfast legends clearly learn a lot from their Irish cousins like FONTAINES D.C., and they too start to conquer the hearts of Londoners one by one. CHALK pay homage to their hometown with the 8-minute-long Béal Feirste before vanishing offstage. Returning with an awaited encore, the duo play their last bits Get Fucked and Conditions. It is clear from the audience’s reaction that most of the visitors have had an absolutely spectacular night, coming out the venue even bigger fans of the band than before.