Wednesday 8 December 2010

Chapel Club -Wintering EP






As far as dark, atmospheric rock music goes, Chapel Club are one of the best bands of recent times. After the likes of Glasvegas and White Lies, although quality bands, made a mockery of the genre by refusing to wear anything other than black onstage, Chapel Club are making morbidity cool again.

In this new EP, they successfully balance elements of love, life and heartbreak into an even mix of pensiveness, joy and pain. Opener ‘Roads’, introduces the style of the EP; a hazy, blissed out body of relaxed, yet skilful, guitar loops and painstakingly intense lyrics. ‘Bodies’ is a gothic twisted power ballad that conveys feelings of love at its extremity in a truly moving format. ‘Widow’ cements the gothic undertones that the band seems to posses whilst the distorted guitars add contrast to the mellower moments that are present in the EP. Chapel Club’s lyrics are certainly their great strength and throughout Wintering, singer, Lewis Bowman’s poetry skills are uncovered and displayed amongst layers of drums and guitars; the drums allowing movement and adding ‘pop’ qualities.

As soon as the listener starts listening to the EP, they begin to uncover Bowman’s emotions one by one which are so easy to lose yourself in. Wintering plays with the heartstrings with its solid intensity throughout; the lyrics toying with the listeners mind and emotions as Bowman pours his heart out and the band as a whole appear to put everything they have into what they are doing. It is clear that a lot of time, effort and creativity has been put into this EP and it’s certainly a ‘must listen’ and an emotional journey that everyone must embark on.

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