In the last couple of years, a void has been opening up in the British indie music scene, and Palace have emerged at just the right time to fill it. We’ve seen the loss of the Maccabees, the evolution of bands like Foals into something more genre-transcending, and the silence of old favourites like Bombay Bicycle Club. The scene needed something fresh, something that would inject some excitement into a genre that has been plagued by short-lived and monotonous guitar bands.
Over the last two or three years, London four-piece Palace have been making a name for themselves with their trademark bluesy sound entwined with intricate guitar melodies, accompanied by their beautifully eye-catching album artwork. Leo Wyndham’s soft and endearing vocals complement the mellow vibe, with everything coming together in perfect harmony to produce ambient, well-crafted music.
Something so special about Palace is the obvious progression of the band from their two EP’s, Lost in The Night (2014)and Chase The Light (2015) through to their debut album So Long Forever, released in November last year. Their distinctive sound was firmly marked out with their first release, and that raw charm has been carried through to their album, though with a much more polished end result. But this progression has not come at the cost of over-production geared towards the mainstream, and Palace have retained their unique character and the sincerity of their music that caught fans’ attention in the first place. So Long Foreveris emotionally-charged: it’s about loss, regret, denial, reflection, and so much more – yet its melancholic themes are translated into warm and soulful music that makes for easy-listening.
What’s been the highlight of the tour? Were you surprised at the popular/sold out reception of the tour all over Europe?
Playing our huge London date at Brixton Electric was incredibly special. It was our hometown gig and to a huge sold out crowd. It was very emotional for us after celebrating with our family and friends and label inside the venue, there was a whole lotta love in the room and it was quite overwhelming in a beautiful way. We’ll never forget that evening.
Yeah we’re always surprised at the sold out shows and the way it seems to go for us. Everything seems like a bonus and we’ve been so lucky as it just keeps going up, we’ve had no dips really. We feel mighty blessed as a band.
What’s the story and who are the people in your album artwork? Are the EP covers linked to the album cover?
The album artwork is done by my little brother Wilby. He’s a brilliant artist and creative wizard and he’s done all our artwork thus far. He’s the guy looking up into the sky in the painting and the other people are his friends. The girl bottom left is the same girl as on the second EP cover, she’s called Louise and she’s our kinda muse. She’s great and we try to get her involved in everything. Wilby has given us this beautiful thing in his artwork, people are so drawn to it and it gives our music an extra edge. We’re lucky to have him as our aesthetics man.
NME likened the sound of your album to ‘early Foals’, what do you think distinguishes Palace from other British ‘indie’ bands?
It’s funny cause we don’t really think we sound like early Foals at all. But obviously that’s a lovely compliment. I guess we have our own sound in the fact that we combine atmospheric ethereal sounds with blues. Not many people do that, so it sets us apart from others. I think our guitar interweaving is quite a defining feature of our sound too, guitar harmonies and intricate parts that people seem to dig.
In terms of the lyrics, is there an overarching theme? There are a lot of references to friends, family etc. Or are there any interesting stories behind any of the lyrics?
No there’s no general thought or theme really. each song just comes into its own in an individual way. I think looking back though, the album without realising it is about loss. Certain things that I went through the past three years have very much shaped the mood of the album I think. A family member died last year after a horrific and brutal battle with cancer, Holy Smoke is about that and being with her just before she died and experiencing a very spiritual moment in being with her just after she’d passed. There is one lyric in our song ‘Veins’ which is a gobbledeegook word, literally it is just me going “I shoot urrrrrghhh”. At the time I couldn’t think of a word to fit it, so just every time make a weird sound. It’s quite funny but it’s kinda stuck with us now forever!
Where do you see yourself in a couple of years? Do you think you’ll stick to the mellow sound you have now or diversify (à la Foals)?
In a couple of years we hope to be two or three albums in and touring extensively in bigger and bigger venues. We just want to keep producing great music and getting our sound our there to the masses! We don’t have a plan in mind to decide where the music will go, I think it has to be an organic and natural development. If we start thinking right the next album is gonna be a synth flute album then we’re fucked. We have to do what we do and keep it natural and easy. We’re never going to be one of those bands that try and totally reinvent themselves in that tragic way, we want to stay true to guitar music and our vibe.
I say that but we’ll probably end up being a hip hop act in a year or two…
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