Album: Chapel Club, Palace (Polydor)

Andy Gill
Friday 04 February 2011 01:00 GMT
Comments

Chapel Club are another retro-indie band apparently eager to re-run the 1980s, albeit in slightly more musically adventurous manner than the likes of White Lies and Interpol.

In Chapel Club's case, the defining precursor is Echo & the Bunnymen, with "Five Trees" ably aping both Ian McCulloch's vocal delivery and Will Sergeant's psych-rock guitar style. They're at their best on the single "Surfacing", where the menacing undertones of their chugging stadium-rock are piquantly spiked with lyrical quotes from "Dream a Little Dream of Me". Elsewhere, they range moodily from the euphoric isolation of "Fine Light" to the bullish, driving momentum of the Bauhaus-styled "White Knight Position", the most serious mis-step coming in the ugly emo poetry of "After the Flood".

DOWNLOAD THIS Surfacing; Fine Light; All the Eastern Girls

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in