SINGLE REVIEW: Chapel Club - Blind

Some bands simply refuse to be labelled. Other bands let their influences shine through to such an extent that it is easy to locate them within a specific genre. Native Londoner’s Chapel Club, for me, find themselves in the latter category and their latest single ‘Blind’ perfectly illustrates why. From the crashing wave of dense guitars and cymbal-heavy percussion to the stripped back verse, simply a solemn voice and the solitary throb of a bassline. It’s all a bit…familiar. Editors, Glasvegas, Hurts, White Lies; countless bands have channelled the dark desperation of Joy Division in recent years, some with more success than others. Taken from their debut album ‘Palace’, the quintet has included all the usual suspects – mellow, subdued verses, a deep, velveteen vocal (of which I am quite fond) building up to an intentionally climactic chorus, led by a soaring guitar riff. Lyrically, the track borders on poetic, delivered by Lewis Bowman’s resonant bass, with much of the same thematically; mourning for the death of a passionate, overwhelming love affair and the resultant heartbreak, as Bowman laments he is ‘too busy with regrets.’ It is clear what Chapel Club are aiming for with ‘Blind’ and it is a shame that their well-crafted musicianship is void of much originality. I really want to like them but, unfortunately, I’ve heard much of it before.

Written for The Whiteboard Project