It seems that the groundswell of hype and support for Chapel Club has seemingly been building forever, with the band releasing one smash single after another since late in 2009, getting the music world quite frothy in anticipation of the London quintet’s eagerly awaited full-length. And now that Palace is here, it’s a measure of the band’s stellar songwriting and enduring hooks that, even after all this time, people still care what the final results sound like instead of moving on to the next big thing. And while there aren’t any real surprises to be found on the record, and the previously released tracks remain the clear standouts, Palace proves that Chapel Club are a band that has something vital to add to the current musical landscape while clearly mining the remnants of past influences.

Lead-off track ‘Depths’ just serves as a liquefied instrumental intro to the towering bombast of ‘Surfacing,’ a blistering anthem that gets the record off to a strong start. Much has been made of their nicking the chorus from the pop standard ‘Dream A Little Dream,’ but coupling that familiar phrase with the thoroughly modern pulse and energy of the track ends up forging a nice link between the dusty past and the precipitous present. Much of the credit for that must go to frontman Lewis Bowman, who has a timeless, rich timbre to his vocals that suggests a young Ian McCulloch or an animated Ian Curtis, and often his escalating voice is what carries these songs somewhere truly exceptional.

The instantly recognisable hum of the Ned’s Atomic Dustbin-like ‘Five Trees’ and the simmering beauty of ‘After The Flood’ quickly follow ‘Surfacing,’ making for quite a breathless and spirited start to the album. And while any band would kill to have this run of songs kick off their debut, anyone who has been paying attention to Chapel Club is all too familiar with this material by this point, and wants to hear something new from the group. The first chance for that comes on ‘White Knight Position,’ which can’t help but pale in comparison to the majesty of the opening numbers. It just comes across as a song-by-numbers track that sounds more like the bands Chapel Club are currently getting grouped in with (White Lies, Editors, Glasvegas, etc…) rather than the imaginative and original tracks featured on the rest of the record.

And now that they have released Wintering, a fan-club only EP that has since been tacked on to a deluxe version of Palace, which the group claims has a progressive sound that finds them already moving beyond the style of their debut, we’re left to question if the songs assembled around the stellar singles here are mere filler left to pad out a required full-length. And, sadly, when looking at the other songs on offer here, that seems to be the case. ‘Blind’ is simply a boring song with not much heart and rather cringeworthy lyrics. ‘Fine Light’ fares much better, with its slow-burning intensity and cheerless atmosphere, as well as the tender closing number ‘Paper Thin,’ both of which stand out as the best of the batch of unheard material on the album.

But when placed next to the brazen confidence and distinct flair of ‘O Maybe I’ and ‘All The Eastern Girls,’ you can’t help but hear the difference in both detail and accomplishment between the songs. But make no mistake, ‘Eastern Girls’ is just massive; a mercurial, unassailable success that is quite easily one of the best singles of the year. It would make most songs seem a bit bland in comparison. But still, the drop in quality between the singles and the rest is quite noticeable, and an album is fundamentally only as strong as its weakest song. And perhaps if we hadn’t had so much time to spend with these other tracks prior to the release of Palace, the rest of the album wouldn’t seem so tame in comparison, unfolding more as a revelation instead of a far too predictable affair.

But as it is, the songs you’ve grown to love, and ultimately knew would make this a good album, indeed make this a good album. But it was essentially up to the artistry of the band and what type of spirit and innovation that they would bring to the other songs that would truly make this a great release, and that is where the record comes up a bit short. For Chapel Club clearly have the promise and potential for a landmark album in their future, but unfortunately this Palace of theirs at this point remains a bit unfinished. Even though the foundation they’ve laid is clearly quite impressive, some of the stately rooms look a tad empty as they are, awaiting the grand adornments that will better suit their ambitious designs.