Belfast newcomers Makeshift Art Bar sign to indie heavyweights Heist or Hit (Westside Cowboy, Her’s) and announce their ‘http://‘Marionette’ EP, set for release June 26th, previewed with lead single ‘Chocolate’
Primed to support Chalk on their European tour kicking off later this week (before their own Dublin & Derry headliners + 3Olympia show w/ Just Mustard), the enigmatic quartet are certainly cementing a reputation as one of the most fearless new voices in the underground scene. Folding post-punk into grunge
into electronica, by way of proto sludge metal, hardcore and art rock, they stake a claim as one of the most exhilaratingly coarse noise-outfits on the planet through sheer guts alone.
Part arch absurdist’s, part dissonant poets, Joseph Sweeney (lead vocals/guitar/electronics), Callum McGuigan (bass), Alleyah Boulaich (drums) and Callum Sweeney (guitar/lapsteel) mark the follow-up to acclaimed debut EP ‘Lackluster Writing Makes Fundamental Reading’ (2025) with scintillating lead track
‘Chocolate’ – a tale of crippling social anxiety and a preference for an unflattering, lonely reality. Bouncing in on a synth line as slippery and hyperactive as anything Aphex Twin has ever cooked up, the track’s crispy offbeat electronic cymbals play counterpoint to atonal guitars and pugilistic drumming, before dry-
wretching its way into a nauseating cacophony of euphoria.
Now partnered with cult tastemaker label Heist or Hit, the rising sonic powerhouse are firmly ready to build on their early plaudits, with a BBC 6 Music playlist spot and live session already under their belts and praise across the press community arriving from the likes of So Young & DIY Magazine.
Detailing their newest release, the group stated: “Choosing loneliness is something we all relate to. In ‘Chocolate’, loneliness is less of an escape and more of a surrender – losing all control makes a life of solitude easy to accept. It’s accepted with warmth. Our character screams the paradox of saying everything, yet having no desire for anything in return. This is the last attempt to gain ownership, despite their imminent doom. This is a descendant into a cave of madness and the deeper we go, the harder it is to hear the voice of clarity at the surface. The frenzied mantra becomes a prison – built brick by brick with your own hands. Defeated, deflated, alone…”
Live Dates
10 APR – Botanique Rotonde, Brussels (BE)
11 APR – Trabendo, Paris (FRA)*
13 Apr – L’Amperage, Grenoble (FRA)*
15 Apr – Santeria Toscana, Milan (ITA)*
16 APR – Bogen F, Zurich (CH)*
18 APR – Lido, Berlin (GER)*
20 APR – Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam (NL)*
23 APR – Sandinos, Derry (NI)
24 APR – Whelans Upstairs, Dublin (IE)
1 MAY – 3Olympia, Dublin (IE) w/ Just Mustard
*supporting Chalk
Makeshift Art Bar Online
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