CityLife

Interview: Chapel Club

Chapel Club

"I’VE read I want to be published by Faber and Faber,” laughs Chapel Club frontman Luke Bowman when I ask him about his growing reputation as indie-rock’s new poet laureate.

“But I’m not good enough. Not yet anyway. I’m still experimenting, dealing with things that are universally applicable. And anyway, I’m too busy with the band.”

In among the music industry lists of those for which pre-ordained success has already been anointed (which surely accounts for why anyone would listen to Ellie Goulding?) too few mentioned Bowman’s London five piece who are slowly seeping into conscience as a band readily wearing literary influences like a badge of honour, unafraid to appear stuffy and mix pretension with pop in a manner few others are currently able.

“We’re really grateful for any attention,” he says, before inevitable adding “but we’re wary of hype. We don’t want to be just some band on a list at the start of the year. We want to be more than that.”

Make no mistake, Chapel Club already are. Since their formation in early summer 2008, their two releases have intrigued and thrilled equally.

Their debut single featured Machine Music, a scathing attack of shoegazey guitars accompanied by A-side Surfacing, whose chorus borrows heavily from 1930s staple Dream A Little Dream, proof outside-of-box thinking.

“The song was in my head when we went to record, I just sang it to fill a lyric that I hadn’t finished. We never really thought anyone would hear it at that point.

“But I think it suits the imagery of the lyrics. If I thought it was naff and silly we’d have taken it out.’

The ace up the sleeve, however, is forthcoming single O Maybe I.?From its wonderful title through the soaring melody and bitter story of post-break-up disillusionment, it is one of the songs of the year.

Relentless

“It’s that sense of losing your mind in a relationship that’s going wrong, the moment when love leaves. It’s not about anything specific, although I think everyone by their mid-20s has some sort of experience of that feeling. I wanted to write a direct pop lyric, just to prove I could do it.’

It may be aligned closely to something that greatest pop literate of all – Morrissey – may have sang (a closing refrain like ‘I can feel my heart is falling apart’ is so Morrissey it’s got Gladioli hanging from its arse pocket). But there is more going on than stealing derivatively.

“People have said the Morrissey influence is quite prevalent, but it wasn’t something I was thinking about.

“It has got the same arch tone, I suppose.

“Although Morrissey’s version would be much cleverer, it’s a bit simple for him. His take on that song would be far more interesting.”

After discussing Morrissey some more, we get back to the small matter of Chapel Club’s first UK tour and the relentless writing process that has left Bowman with an array of riches to make up their debut, due in autumn.

“We’ve got so many songs, we’re writing all the time. I’m a bit sick of O Maybe I already.”

Not a good sign when you’re yet to play it to the world…

“I know,” he chuckles. “I sometimes have to remember people haven’t heard these songs before."

Can we expect the same eclecticism?

“It won’t be senseless. It will sound like the same band, they’ll be stylistically similar. But between now and then, who knows what we’ll come up with?"