Biography
The Chalets, an indie rock band based in Dublin, first assembled during 2001 and quickly established a sound built on girlish harmonies, swanky guitar riffs, stylish synth beats, and a kitschy cool sense of fashion. Fronted by Paula Cullen on vocals and keyboards alongside Caoimhe Derwin on vocals and keyboards, with Chris Judge handling bass, Enda Loughman on guitar, and Dylan Roche on drums, the five-piece delivered a spunky live show that recalled the work of Letters to Cleo, the Subways, and the Pipettes. Their initial commercial release arrived in late 2003 as the 7-inch split The Two Chord Song, shared with synth pop guru Neosupervital. The following spring brought the flirty double-single Theme from Chalets/Sexy Mistake on Nasty Pop/Setanta. The title track from their 2005 Nightrock EP subsequently appeared in the international trailer—everywhere except the United States—for the animated children’s comedy Madagascar. Momentum continued to build on the U.K. indie circuit once the band issued its 2005 full-length LP, Check In; in January 2006 Art Brut invited the Chalets to support a German tour, while additional headlining dates across the U.K. overlapped with their Best New Band victory at the 2006 Meteor Music Ireland Awards. “Sexy Mistake” later surfaced in two episodes of the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy.
Albums
Singles
