This September, we catch up on some of favourite albums of 2023. Back in April, Manchester’s Afflecks Palace released their second album, ‘The Only Light In This Tunnel Is The Oncoming Train’ via their label Sprit Of Spike Island.
Image and artwork courtesy of Spirit of Spike Island.
In 2021, on ‘What Do You Mean Its Not Raining’ and live, Afflecks Palace felt like potential not fully realised. This time, their lysergic charm has found the missing ingredient to take them to another level. Intensity!
Bridging the gap between the two albums are ‘Big Fish Small Pond’, ‘Dancing Is Not A Crime’, and ‘I’m So Glad You’re On Ecstasy’. ‘Big Fish Small Pond’ witnesses Peter Radshaw laying waste to his skins to allow frontman J Fender to punch out the vocal with a determined cadence. The new inflamed passion culminates with a breath-taking pause before they announce themselves as serious players. Opener ‘Dancing Is Not A Crime’ rips a page out of Manchester’s heritage and pastes it back in with an ecstatically wayward power. Fender’s vocal uplift alongside the warped guitars takes the band to the edge of a classic (album three is already a drooling prospect). Meanwhile, ‘I’m So Glad You’re On Ecstasy’ builds on the delicate psyche and dreams of ‘Spinner’ with its trials and tribulations of modern drug use. Fender toys with the cadence and tempo like a cat with its prey. He is totally in command of his performance now, and it allows the band's identity to cement a foundation in the hearts and minds of indie lovers.
If these tracks were doubling down on their dreams for the debut album, then ‘Holidays’ and ‘Patchwork Quilted Veins’ are the sound of bigger and better ones materialising. As Fender decrees, “this heart is caught in a landslide”, desperation emerges to increase their rock ‘n’ roll integrity. Rebellious, humble, and living for the moment, the band now emit an essence which fans can cling to with hope in a world falling apart at the seams. ‘Patchwork Quilted Veins’ bristles with an urgency through Dan Stapleton’s delicate Marr-esque guitars, the haunting keys, and Fender’s fierce backing vocals. Together, they conjure a sense of rising and tumbling as the protagonist struggles towards the light. Midway Stapleton lets out a blast of anguish on his guitar so powerful you’ll be merciful it’s short.
Then, on ‘Wake Up’ and ‘Wide Eyes On The Night Bus’ the album climaxes in different ways. ‘Wake Up’ displays Radshaw’s increasing power within the band. The ferocity and fluidity of his drumming find a place between Reni (Stone Roses) and Matt Tong (Bloc Party). It gives Fender’s clarion call “stand up, stand tall” a chance to build with greater anticipation before taking a grip of your soul. As he sings, “treading water all your life”, a thunderous self-examination takes hold, but, before answers are realised, the devastating “silence is a passenger” wraps itself around your vital organs demanding more.
The self-determining power of ‘Wake Up’ is, in many ways mirrored and ignored on ‘Wide Eyes On The Night Bus’. Flirting with Factory Records history, the band plunges into an inspirational MDMA-enthused night out. Fender’s gently eloquent vocals and Stapleton’s electrifying guitars chart the course of nowhere and have a great time getting there. As opportunities for this generation fade, it offers a way out to anyone feeling the pressure. To find this much beauty in 2023 is truly astonishing. Souls have come together, creating a new day, a beautiful day!
The rise of Afflecks Palace continues steadfastly. It’s beautifully aimless, passionate, and soul-enriching. 100 years from now, they will not be forgotten!
Click the image below for tickets to their 2024 tour:
