Chapel Club and my wish for cold weather

Okay people, it's frickin December. Could I please get some weather that doesn't require me to wear shorts and flip flops. Which leads me to today's musical find. CHAPEL CLUB are the kind of band I would listen to when it's cold outside. The band reminds me a ton of THE OCEAN BLUE mixed with elements of the shoegazer movement. These London based chaps are releasing their new ep, entitled "Wintering", in preparation for the debut full length in 2011. The four songs here highlight the different stylistics impressions of the band and serves as a nice primer for new listeners.

The opener, "Roads", is a fuzzed out drone of a song that pays homage to SWERVEDRIVER and SLOWDIVE, including the full effect guitar bending sound made famous by the later on their seminal "Souvlaki Space Station." "Teluride" builds slowly through a wash of feedback to find a dreamy pop song hiding on the other side. "Bodies" has the feel of a dark night drive along a snowy road, with the gentle guitar line serving as the falling snow. The closer, the eight minute "Widows", seems to be lifted from THE CURE early catalogue with it's slinky bass line pushing the song along.

As an added bonus, the band has made another song available on their site for free download. "The Shore", which one would guess will be the lead single from their record, seems more aggressive in it's sound yet maintains the imagery outlined in the song title. Whether it's the birds at the open of the track or the way the song washes sound over the listener, the band excels at creating mood pieces that pass as pop songs. Take some time with these guys and definitely check out their full length next year.

Download The Shore from their site here.