London-based indie band CHEST are back with their brand-new EP, ‘never really here’.
Produced by Thomas Coath (known for his work with Sam Fender and Pale Waves), the EP is a tense, immersive journey through internal collapse and external chaos. CHEST’s sound is a dynamic mix of tight guitars, driving drums, shimmering electronics, and soaring melodies, fused with raw distortion. Their influences span from Sunny Day Real Estate and Placebo to the experimental edge of Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips, creating a sound that’s both familiar and entirely their own.
The EP’s focus single, JULIA, digs deep into childhood memories, illness, and the lingering impact of fractured parental bonds, wrapped in hazy, distorted indie-rock textures. Vocalist Joel Reader says:
“This track is the most personal one I’ve written. It’s a raw look at my relationship with my unwell mother at a young age, and how that fractured dynamic has shaped our relationship since. It’s vulnerable, helpless, and tangled with grief, resentment, and anger.”
Other tracks expand the emotional canvas: SO BETTER NOW dissects the theatre of the outside world, MACHINE and GOSPEL explore obsessive thoughts and escalating panic, while NUMB chronicles the fallout of internal collapse. Together, the EP traces a deep, immersive emotional arc.
Formed in Norwich, CHEST credit the city’s quirky, genre-bending scene for shaping their identity. “Norwich is full of oddballs who are unapologetically themselves—that attitude is something we carry with us,” the band explains. Since relocating to London, they’ve hit the festival circuit with Latitude and Wild Paths, supported acts like The Lounge Society, Bilk, and PleasureInc, and earned early BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music airplay.
With their electrifying, immersive energy and a sound that already feels fully realized, CHEST are a band to watch in 2026.
CHEST Line-Up: Joel Reader (vocals), Stanley Horseman (guitar), Russell Eldon (guitar), Teo Koschak (drums), William Booth (bass)
Live Dates
- 10 Apr – Bury St Edmunds, The Apex
Stream / Listen
Follow CHEST
Instagram: @chest_band
TikTok: @chest_the_band
YouTube: @chest_band
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