Leeds trio Default Mode Network are back with ‘Chin Up Chuck’, a technicolour blast of fuzz, psychedelia and offbeat charm that sees the band pushing their sound into bolder, stranger territory. Equal parts gritty garage rock and kaleidoscopic indie swagger, the single captures a band clearly enjoying the freedom to experiment, and sounding all the better for it.
Having first introduced themselves through the raw, blues-laced punch of their 2025 EP Voids & Filaments, Default Mode Network have been steadily building a reputation for channeling the restless spirit of alt-rock’s great disruptors. The DNA of Pixies, Nirvana and The White Stripes still pulses through their veins, but on ‘Chin Up Chuck’ there’s a new colour in the mix. Recording with the historic Challen piano at Abbey Road – the very instrument immortalised on The Beatles’ A Day In The Life, helped transform the track from scrappy garage rocker into something far more playful and expansive, injecting a dose of Beatles-esque melody into their fuzzed-out foundations.
The result is a track that crackles with personality. Gnarled guitars grind against bright piano flourishes, while the band lean fully into the psychedelic weirdness that lurks beneath their grunge-heavy exterior. It’s punchy, melodic and packed with a kind of loose-limbed energy that practically demands to be shouted along to in a sweaty club.
Naturally, the band’s sense of fun spills into the visuals too. The accompanying video leans into the song’s rubber duck motif with gleeful absurdity, unfolding as a surreal “tale of two cities” split between Leeds and London. Featuring a bizarre duck army filmed at Soif Studios – plus the band themselves wandering through the capital lugging a sack of 400 rubber ducks – it’s the kind of gloriously oddball concept that perfectly mirrors the track’s playful chaos.
With anticipation building for their upcoming EP The Spilling Sap & Burning Branch, ‘Chin Up Chuck’ feels like a statement of intent. Default Mode Network aren’t just mining the past – they’re gleefully scrambling it, blending ‘60s psychedelia, ‘90s alt-rock grit and modern indie bite into something colourful, chaotic and unmistakably their own.
