“Like everything else with us,” says Michael, “the name was unplanned and ill-defined in the beginning. We didn’t start out with one and we’d go ages without bringing it up. But on the occasions when we did talk about it down in the churchyard, there was a lot of disagreement.” Eventually, the answer came from the site of the discussions itself, and the embryonic band became Chapel Club.
The band’s founder, Michael grew up in the depths of Essex before moving to the capital. He spent some time playing in other people’s bands and often lent his abilities to friends’ projects, but his real focus was always on doing something much more personal. He began collecting ideas and inspiration – anything from vintage natural history illustrations and stop-motion film shorts to guitar lines, drum samples and snatches of melody – with a vague notion that, out of this ephemera, a band might one day be born.
When Michael met Liam (bass) and Liam introduced Alex (guitar), his best friend since junior school days in Swindon, the core parts were in place. What the band needed now was a drummer and a frontman – then the machine could start to move. Leeds-born Rich (drums) and Londoner Lewis (vocals) provided the missing pieces. Each was recommended by mutual friends and fitted in instantly with the existing trio’s tastes, temperaments and (importantly) savage sense of humour: in no time, the five were hanging out together, writing, rehearsing and trying to work out what form their strange new creation would take. For Lewis, who had never been in bands before and now found himself singing and songwriting for the first time, it was an intimidating experience.
In the end, it took very little time for the defining elements of Chapel Club’s signature sound to take shape: heavy drama from the guitars, a rhythm section as tight as a hanged man’s gullet, melodic intricacies aplenty and a vocal that crooned and swooned its way through stories of lust, love and loss like a modern-day Jacques Brel. It soon became apparent to all involved – as well as the growing legion of admirers the band picked up from early gigs and their first MySpace page – that Chapel Club were different from other bands. First, there was the music: they didn’t quite fit any of the existing stereotypes.
“I dread that question, ‘Who do you sound like?’” says Lewis. “Not because it’s a bad question, it’s natural enough for someone to ask that. I’d just love to have a quick and accurate answer. But I can’t think of anyone we sound like, especially live. I end up reeling off influences from Deerhunter and New Order to the Bad Seeds, Scott Walker and Chet Baker – and leaving the person who asked more confused than they were to begin with.”
The second thing that set the nascent Chapel Club apart was the words: Lewis drew on his love of wordsmiths like Ted Hughes, Mikhail Bulgakov, R.S. Thomas, Frank O’Hara, Ernest Hemingway and Knut Hamsun to create lyrics that flitted from the vivid and vernacular (the lovers’ argument of O Maybe I) or darkly poetic (the pained paean to desire that is Machine Music) to the acutely descriptive (After the Flood) and downright philosophical (Paper Thin).
The end result? Chapel Club aren’t run of the mill. They have their own formula, one they arrived at by chance and which they want to remain something of a mystery, in case they jinx it. More than anything else though, they are a band best described not in relation to other bands or musical precedents but in relation to the events, experiences and sentiments at the heart of their songs: sex, love, grief, frustration, pride, power, jealousy, even (in The Shore) the desire for the comforts of religious faith in a mind that’s far too cynical ever to accept the possibility of God.
Head down to one of Chapel Club’s fortnightly London events and you’ll most likely find yourself in an offbeat location – an ‘acid Rasta’ West Indian pub perhaps, or a disused gallery space – mingling with a fun-loving, forward-thinking crowd and watching a magical, moody, incredibly loud live show that will leave you by turns stunned, enraptured, anguished, awestruck and overwhelmed. ‘Intense’ is the word on a lot of listeners’ lips, and after two years of ensuring their musical abilities match their ambitions, you won’t hear Chapel Club complaining about that.
The band split in October 2013 after the release of their second album, 'Good Together'.
Sites: MusicBrainz.
Paper Thin
Chapel Club Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And gather some lavender sun
Fistfuls of feathers and greening
There'll be some winter sun
Silently watch fire widow
Awakened unto the night
And lead him off into the shadows
Oh God, oh God please don't
Does love mean nothing?
Oh lord, oh lord, oh no,
I don't see how I can be without
I don't see how I can be without
I'll be there when life leaves you sensing
And your mind scatters and fractures
And crumbles to pieces;
I'll wait and watch them fly.
Oh God, oh God please don't...
Does love mean nothing?
Oh lord, oh lord, oh no,
I don't see how I can be without
I don't see how I can be without
Slowly the stars will rise up and
Slowly the stars will rise up and
Slowly the stars will rise,
Slowly the stars will rise...
All I ever wanted was for you to last;
All I could have asked for, you have been mine.
Can't be without
Can't be without
Can't be without
Can't be without
The lyrics to Chapel Club's song Paper Thin are open to a number of interpretations, however, one possible analysis of the lyrics is that they deal with themes of love, loss, and mortality. The archangel's wounds, lavender sun, feathers, and greening suggest a sense of fragility and beauty - themes that are also evident in the references to fire, shadows, and traffic. These contrasts between light and dark, fragility and strength, suggest a tension between life and death, and perhaps a sense of the fleeting nature of existence.
The repeated refrain of "Does love mean nothing?" and the plea to "please don't" indicate a sense of longing and despair, while the lines "All I ever wanted was for you to last; all I could have asked for, you have been mine" suggest a sense of acceptance or resignation. The final repetition of "Can't be without", while ambiguous in meaning, could be interpreted as a final, desperate plea for love or meaning in the face of mortality.
Overall, then, the lyrics to Paper Thin invite interpretation and reflection, offering a complex and evocative portrayal of the human condition.
Line by Line Meaning
The archangels wounds are still bleeding
The effects of an event with immense significance still remain present and painful
And gather some lavender sun
Finding moments of beauty and tranquility amidst dark times
Fistfuls of feathers and greening
Trading darkness and sorrow for lightness and growth
There'll be some winter sun
Even in the coldest, darkest seasons of life, there will be some light and warmth to be found
Silently watch fire widow
Observing someone who is consumed and destroyed by their own passions and desires
Awakened unto the night
Coming to fully experience the darkness and unknown aspects of life
And lead him off into the shadows
Assisting someone in accepting and embracing the darkness within themselves
Traffic eyes alight.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, purpose, or drive in someone who may have been lost
Oh God, oh God please don't
Desperately pleading for something not to happen
Does love mean nothing?
Questioning whether love and its promises hold any true value
Oh lord, oh lord, oh no,
Expressing disbelief, worry, or despair
I don't see how I can be without
Unable to imagine life or a future without someone or something
I'll be there when life leaves you sensing
Offering support and presence during difficult moments of transition or introspection
And your mind scatters and fractures
When one's sense of self or understanding of the world is disrupted or shattered
And crumbles to pieces;
When everything that seemed solid and reliable falls apart
I'll wait and watch them fly.
Being a witness to someone's healing and growth beyond tough times
Slowly the stars will rise up and
A symbol of hope and renewal, of light overcoming darkness
Slowly the stars will rise up and
Repeating the above sentiment for emphasis
Slowly the stars will rise,
The steady progress of healing and growth, which takes time
Slowly the stars will rise...
Finishing the previous phrase, weaving in an allusion to the cyclical nature of life
All I ever wanted was for you to last;
Expressing the hope or desire for something to endure for a long time, maybe even forever
All I could have asked for, you have been mine.
Feeling blessed and grateful for having experienced something that met or exceeded one's hopes or expectations
Can't be without
Nothing else can substitute for the presence or role of someone or something important
Can't be without
Repeating the above sentiment, emphasizing its truth and importance
Can't be without
Finishing the repetition and concluding the song with a simple yet powerful statement
Contributed by Landon R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.