Chapel Club
Good Together
June 3 2013 (Ignition Records)
8/10
Words: Dave Beech
Forming in 2007 after the break-up of two previous bands, little known London outfit Palace spent several months honing their sound and adding additional members to their line-up. Two years on and having been joined by baritone’d vocalist Lewis Bowman, they play under final name, Chapel Club, and release their debut single 'Surfacing', earning them airplay and critical acclaim alike – despite the brief copyright lawsuit that followed. Six years down the line however much of the band's previous outings have been discarded. Gone is the spatially aware yet ultimately brooding aesthetics of their debut album; instead, sophomore effort 'Good Together' sees the band harbour a much more optimistic and electronically driven vibe that proves to be utterly irresistible.
From the moment the album was streamed it was clear that was going to be a very different affair from that of their debut album 'Palace'. “Forgive us” proclaimed singer Lewis Bowman, when the stream went live “while we purge the CC fan-base of dopamine-soaked post-punk nostalgists. Back to normal service shortly.” Not an ideal way of endearing older fans to a change in sound, though I think perhaps that was the idea.
Opening track 'Sleep Alone' takes about ten seconds to assert itself as completely converse to any expectations you might have had. Gone entirely is the electric guitar, and while the bass remains it does so only just. Instead there is to be found a completely abundance of synth and electronica that was hinted at in earlier live tracks such as 'New Colours'. From start to finish 'Good Together' feels like the album Chapel Club really wanted make and now, free of the constraints of a major label, they've allowed their wings to spread and aren't afraid to soar miles above the musical diaspora that was 'Palace'.
It could quite easily be two very different bands that have made the albums in Chapel Club's back catalogue. From the uplifting and danceable 'Shy' to the radio-friendly and bass driven 'Wordy' there's not even a slight hint at previous outings such as the ominously mournful 'The Shore'. Indeed, it's as if with leaving a major record label – as was the case here – the band have seen the light at the other side of teenage angst. No more are they the metaphorical hard-done-by-teens with a penchant for melancholy, now they have shown themselves to be a band who have realised who they really are and what they wanted to sound like. Rather than quashing that in a bid to appease a label, they opted to embrace their sound and sign with Ignition, and they sound all the better for it.
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