Palace

Palace is a five piece progressive indie rock band from Hartlepool in England. Since 2011 John Bee (lead vocals / guitar), Luke Cowley (lead guitar), Grant Shears (guitar), Sonny Williamson (bass guitar) and Tom Sotheran (drums) have been found gigging around town and they have also managed to get out a five track EP Apology in Demand.

The younger readers of the website will have no idea what I am talking about here, but it needs saying.

In the good old days before the State decided to stamp another branding iron in the head over cigarettes.  Back when then was then and school days were about getting by from week to week. On Saturday late afternoon the 6th Form would tupp up with a penny or two in the local cafe and there were 24 tables full of boarders desperate for release until prep on Sunday evening having spent Saturday morning at school and Saturday afternoon playing sport, encased within a blue fug of smoke, while we failed to hide the vodka under the table as the six cups of tea were passed from hand to hand until the proprietor started to moan. Then out of the fog a figure would rise and  someone thrust a greedy paw in to the jukebox, permitting our stay to be extended and the vinyl dropped with a screech, only good for  a few plays before the scratch, well that is where I sit with Palace, this reminds me of boarding life back in ’75.

This is joy to listen to as it is so retrograde as to makes upside down seem the right way up. Scintillating squeals of guitar are accompanied by timpanies and a vocal pitch I last reached when I was .. a non-smoker… in my pre-teens. But still as I am alive, so is Palace and more importantly they head to the future by engaging with with past. I look forward to that future in accompaniment with the quintet, whilst I recall the smoke filled excitement of the latest release dropping to the players pad.

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