“When I’m pulled down into the ground, what sky will I meet when I finally sleep?”
Brighton’s Chalk Hands are an important voice for math-meets-post rock and screamo in the UK. These genres are not considered part of the prevailing zeitgeist, whether in the British Isles or worldwide. This is music that is steadily practiced, discovered gradually, and played live to dedicated audiences. Virality is not impossible to catch, as proven by some acts in the ‘5th wave’ of modern emo (and of course, everything -core right now), but it’s hardly the goal. Instead, Chalk Hands have taken on big stages in their own authentic way. Since the release of their 2022 debut Don’t Think About Death, they’ve supported major tours for Touché Amoré, Frail Body, and Joliette. These are all figureheads for post hardcore and screamo that demonstrate Chalk Hand’s intent: craft music that’s true to their souls and talents, regardless of the size of the room they’ll get to play it in.
For their second album The Line That Shapes the Coast of Us, they’ve stuck to their typical format when it comes to track lengths, but the rulebook is loose beyond that. Each track is expansive, driven by its own linear story rather than a need to automatically reprise every idea. Tom Hill (Bookhouse Studio) once again proves he can do no wrong when handling production, imparting a ‘down to earth’ feel across the record. The heavy moments bite down very, very hard, and importantly preserve the ‘four piece’ feeling, avoiding over-layering and keeping the focus even across all four musicians. It’s the gentle parts that truly shine, where all the articulate details and flourishes are laid bare and the tension becomes palpable.
What Chalk Hands are emphasising on The Line That Shapes the Coast of Us are contrasts and dynamics. Their style naturally lends itself to these aspects: full volume is only one hard strum and scream away, thus they make surprising and sharp turns on almost every song. The opening tracks get straight into building complex and compelling patterns, from “Ember Lane”’s brass-soaked introduction to “Day Glow”’s ever-changing yet urgent pace. “Pauvre de Moi” is a particularly high contrast track where verses flutter between near studio-silence and uncontained rage, with lots of detail in the former and catharsis in the latter. When working softly, they show off a delicious ‘tone in your fingers’ style of guitar playing, and drummer Gary Marsden knows how to compliment all this, largely through tasteful fills and decorative hi-hat work.
The dynamics of Chalk Hands are very compelling, but the listener will come away with another strong impression, as an inescapably dejected mood haunts the record. The opening run is not upbeat by any measure, and the fourth track “Bite Marks” creates the first pit of absolute despair, with lyrics to match (“I wonder if my grief could be illusory / When you left was when I truly felt your company”). But the focus on dynamics applies to both the small scope and the large, and an air of hope is also inherent to Chalk Hands‘ style. After a forlorn drone passage, “Bite Marks” closes on an amicable ditty that forms an overture to the album’s first single “Breaking Waves”, and “A Comfort You Borrow” continues this streak a little further with jubilant burst-beats. This spark of optimism drives the central portion of the album into the light, if only briefly.
With this bright middle stretch over, the glass becomes half-empty once again for the remainder of the record. In the process, Chalk Hands lay down surely some of their best material yet. “Peregrine” especially stands out with its doomlike mid-section, crafting the band’s heaviest moment yet. For the final tracks on the record they also lean into their post rock and shoegaze influences, especially on “A Surefire Way to Disappear” and “Your Skin Is Gold”. The closer “Sleep Tapes” is a lovely footnote, an acoustic piece so subtle it’s barely there, recorded after all the gear had been put away. Its lyrics ponder an uncertain future, willing comfort into existential dread, making for an effective summary of the whole album.
The collision of a hollowing, depressive atmosphere with the intricacies of math rock is the classic juxtaposition of Chalk Hands. The debut record had them landing on an immediately compelling sound, and The Line That Shapes the Coast of Us has no need to change that contract. The nature of its specific genres means it won’t find widespread play, but those who do study it will find it worthy of cherishing as one of the strongest releases of its kind in some years.
8/10
The Line That Shapes the Coast of Us releases 27th March 2026 via Dog Knights Productions and can be pre-ordered here.