PALACE perform to a sold out crowd at Electric Brixton in London.

After two years since the release of their debut EP, Lost In The Night, Palace have been touring across the UK and Europe with their debut full-length, So Long Forever.

It is a Wednesday night when the London four-piece takes to the stage at sold out Elextric Brixton. That surely counts as quite an achievement considering it is their hometown show.

Despite the fact they have just dropped a debut album, Palace are opening tonight’s set with a nod to the past as they hit the chords of track Head Above The Water. Their broad and profound sound echoes throughout as they continue the nostalgic trend with I Want What You Got and Tomahawk.

Tonight’s atmosphere is tinted with an angelic feeling, as a friend of mine accurately points out, making the show one of those where you stop and stare for a while to simply embrace the music.

Eerie melodies of Have Faith follow up tangling with a pinch of urgency hailing from the song Break The Silence, but no one dares naturally.

Palace proceed with more tracks and keep a firm reign on the steady rhythms. Leo Wyndham‘s longing and haunting vocals derive from every offering as we are being served with light and uplifting Live Well, more upbeat Kiloran and expressive Blackheath.

What’s more, Palace are storytellers. Having kept the narrative style of their songs, enhanced by stirring visuals in the form of flashing images and vibrant palette of dancing colours, which certainly adds a vivid factor to the whole live experience and its aesthetics. We are presented with a plethora of lighting sets that appear minimal comparing to the sonics.

The tune It’s Over suitably carries the sense of gradually approaching ending allowing the crowd for a first burst of louder sing-along, and you wish there were more moments as such.

There are two tracks which stand as definite gems respectively on the band’s recent record and on tonigth’s setlist. The emotionally charged So Long Forever and intense Holy Smoke which build up the tension, everlastingly escalating, what in result leaves an infinite fading effect. Of course, if you can imagine what I mean.

The emotive Family and re-mastered straightforward Bitter beautifully rounds off the set giving the audience the opportunity to finally engage a little bit more and again, you wish that’d happened a few songs earlier.

Nevertheless, the performance may have fallen a tad monotonous and toneless for some. The band’s material is shaped around laid-back bluesy rock vibes which don’t leave much space for rapid pace changes or crazy crowd actions. But this does not mean it lacks an authenticity or honesty. Palace have remained true to themselves and the origin of their unique style, and that’s more than enough for all devoted fans.

But for now, let’s leave the bitterness aside because the band surely made Electric Brixton their own palace, even if only for this one particular night.

So long, until we meet again.

Photos: Kasia Osowiecka