Ones To Watch: Chamberlane

Words: Ruby Corrigan

Clothed in an eclectic mix of GAA jerseys paired with formal trousers, the boys of Chamberlane took to the stage of the Luton Hat Factory on the 29th of July with their unique sound; a small-town band deserving of a national audience.

Opening with a cover of ‘Hate to Say I Told You So’ by The Hives that got the entire crowd dancing, I instantly knew to expect an electric night full of absolutely banging tunes. However, what was extremely special was the first original song of the night: ‘A Day out in Dam’. While some may say that doing original songs at gigs as a new band is risky, the combined work of Luke Kelly (lyrics) and Tait Salvatierra (music) on this song was triumphant, if I were to sum it up in a few words, it would be pure summery joy (with an extremely catchy tune).

What is so good about this band is that they really work as an ensemble – each of their talents shine through, but still accompany each other perfectly. This was evident in their cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’. A perfect blend of unique rasping vocals from Luke Kelly, crisp drum riffs from Travis Giles, perfectly balanced melodies from guitarists Josh Mcgillicuddy and Oliver Kelly as well as a deep, soulful bass line from Tait Salvatierra made for an extremely original and frankly quite moving performance of the already iconic song. Speaking of vocals, I couldn’t write a review and not talk about their fantastic cover of ‘Creep’, where frontman Luke sang his heart out, perfectly capturing the stirring heartache in Radiohead’s hit song, as well as adding his own personal artistic flair which created an even more raw, emotional listening experience.

While still quite a small band, it is fantastic to see how they already have a steadily growing, loyal fanbase who seemed to have been with them from the start. I spoke to a few people in the crowd while the boys played their final song, an extremely high energy rendition of Paolo Nutini’s classic song ‘Candy’ that got the entire crowd singing and dancing together. Many people told me how they had seen the band perform every time since their formation and ‘they have never sounded better’ and ‘were so excited for their next event as it’s always a great time’. One audience member was even brought close to tears near the end of the gig, saying ‘it’s so wonderful to see them and hear them sound so good, it’s made me quite emotional actually’.

All in all, it was a fantastic night full of great tunes with even greater musicians. In short, Chamberlane is a band to watch, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.

“They have never sounded better”

Fans at Luton Hat Factory