Ever since humans played their very first chords and sang their very first notes, music – as well as art in general – has been a vehicle to process and reflect on people’s experiences and feelings. Nowadays, it is normal for artists to lean on their past and the depths of their minds for their musical creations. Palace, a British indie outfit, has made a name for themselves for doing just that, and with their latest release, the deeply personal ‘Ultrasound’, the four-piece is once more painting a vivid portrait of resilience and introspection, intertwining the rawness of the human experience with the ethereal resonance of music.
First setting their formation back in 2012, the London-based group has grown from a bunch of best friends from school to a globally renowned band that has for so long held a firm place in the eclectic world of indie music. First inspired by frontman Leo Wyndham’s younger brother Bill Wilby, who not only came up with the group’s name but has also been their creative wizard since their very beginnings, the enthralling quartet currently consists of singer Wyndham, guitarist Rupert Turner, drummer Matt Hodges and bassist Will Dorey, and aims to toy between the light and dark of today’s world.
In the quiet, contemplative space of their recording studio, the British foursome once more embarked on a musical journey unlike any other – one that ultimately led them to the creation of their fourth studio record ‘Ultrasound’. “It’s funny because when you write a bio about an album, it’s very strange because when you write music, you very much do it as a way of understanding something. For myself, it’s a way of making sense of situations, emotions and things in my life. But when at the end you have to write it down in a bio that goes out to people, I find it incredibly hard to put things into words,”, recalls vocalist Wyndham about the final stages of their latest musical endeavour. Recorded together with long-time collaborator and producer Adam Jaffrey (who had previously worked with them on their 2016 debut album ‘So Long Forever’), the multi-faceted long-player first came without a clear vision and no actual prepared songs, as Wyndham reflects. Instead, the friends simply went into the studio to jam and create whatever came naturally – until life took a sudden turn for the band’s frontman, and everything came to a standstill. “The album starts with an experience, which is something my partner and I went through – a late miscarriage just over a year ago. We were trying for a baby, and then had this year-long experience of trying to make sense of this very traumatic situation,”, the singer explains, candidly and ever so openly delving into the reason how their new album became a vessel for the artist to channel his immense grief. “The record chapters this journey that becomes very much about growth and understanding and how we evolve as humans after we experience trauma. A big part of the album is about the light that comes from these traumatic experiences and the new things you learn about yourself and your partner. It’s about the many ways you start to gain a bit more clarity of the way you see and appreciate things and find joy in every day and the beauty of the world.”
Although it arose from within the depths of heartbreak and loss, ‘Ultrasound’ is also filled to the brim with love – especially for Wyndham’s partner, his bandmates, and the healing power of music, as he emphasises: “The process of creating the album with the guys was an incredibly cathartic experience for all of us. We created this safe space where we could just be ourselves and feel comfortable together. And there was this incredible support and understanding and unspoken love in the studio, knowing what had gone on, and the guys had been with me every step of the way. It was very respectful.”
Not really set up as a concept album, but still donning a natural flow, the 14-track-strong LP stands as a heartfelt tale of personal struggle and resilience, laid bare for the world to hear. One that started right with its sombre opener ‘When Everything Was Lost’. “We went into the studio with our producer Adam, and that was the first song that came together as the start of the journey. We wanted to make a track that had a certain power and emotion in a very held and compact way,”, describes Wyndham, further offering an insight into the quartet’s ever-changing soundscape. “In the past, when we wanted to put emotion forward, the songs would get loud and big, but with this, we wanted to keep it low, so the drums never go crazy, but it still has this emotional weight and impact to mirror the feelings of what you go through with loss. It feels like a step forward in our sound, what we do, and how we approach our music.”
“we wanted THE LAST SONG to be like the shedding of the SKIN and these things about ourselves that we hold on to and need to let go. It‘s this idea of purging yourself of the past and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
While Wyndham has always been a songwriter who draws his lyrics from personal experiences, the band’s latest release takes it one step further with its narrative as it moves through the ups and downs of processing his partner’s miscarriage as well as the reality of the life that came after – until finally ending in the cinematic and unfaltering closer ‘Goodnight, Farewell’. “It’s the final song on the album and my favourite we’ve ever done. It was the last track we recorded, and we wanted it to be like the shedding of the past and the skin and these things about ourselves that we hold on to and need to let go. We had to trust and just fall, jump and take the flying leap into the next chapter. It’s this idea of purging yourself of the past and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,”, singer Wyndham uncovers, retelling the final few minutes of the recording process during which the indie rock ensemble experienced a peculiar natural spectacle which ended up adding the ultimate sprinkle of magic to the record. “The final lyrics of the song are “I’ll never forget you”, and it was weird because when I finished singing the words, we could suddenly hear these huge chunks of hail coming from outside that set all the car alarms off in the car park. The microphone actually picked it up, so if you listen closely at the end, you can hear it. It almost makes me feel emotional talking about it because it was this little gift from the spirit world of like, you can move on now, you’re going to be fine.”
Though coincidental, throughout Palace’s history, this isn’t the first time nature has played a major role in the composition of the band’s soundscape, as Wyndham illuminates: “Nature and water are some of the biggest inspirations for our music. I’ve always lived near the sea and so have the other guys. And I’ve always loved being obsessed with nature and walking and swimming in the sea. It helps me feel connected to the universe.”
Looking at the overarching theme of ‘Ultrasound’, Wyndham, though rather unintentionally, managed to break down the borders around a topic that still remains a societal taboo, despite about 10% to 20% of known pregnancies sadly being affected by it. Written from the musician’s point of view, the album sees the songwriter walk the listener through what it feels like to experience the sudden loss of a child while trying to balance the expression of your grief with the pain of your partner: “Making the album was very much a healing process. I felt very nervous about putting it out in the world and talking about this because in no way am I speaking for anyone else or my partner. Men don’t talk about this stuff usually, so if other people can relate to it, then that’s a really positive thing.”
As Wyndham underlines, this also brought along the challenge of understanding his place in the overall process and within the “female experience”, which, over time, ended up forging an even stronger bond between the couple and greater appreciation for each other. “Being side by side with my partner and seeing her strength and resilience within this experience has put me completely in awe of her. I strongly believe that men couldn’t do that. There’s a certain female energy and strength that women have that is incredible and mind-blowing. I’m always amazed by how incredibly strong women are, and how they have to deal with periods and all this other stuff that we don’t have to deal with that’s not talked about,”, the singer highlights, further detailing his heightened understanding of the many societal and structural hurdles women have to overcome. “I definitely gained an awareness of the pressure on women to have children at a certain age and to forego their career and independence to have a baby. For men, it’s just not the same at all.”
“Once a song is released, it becomes everyone else‘s. It‘s not really ours anymore, but that‘s the best thing about it. Each track grows into a tree of people and branches out into all the flowers of everybody else‘s stories and their experiences.”
When your songs are rooted so deeply within your most intimate experiences, it can sometimes be hard for the fans to put their own meanings to the music. However, Palace have always made sure to keep the door just open enough for people to come in and add their own tales and opinions to the four-piece’s sonic landscape, as Wyndham states: “Once a song is released, it becomes everyone else’s, you know? People can take that song, and it can be a part of whatever they’re going through in their life. It’s not really ours anymore, but that’s the best thing about it. Each track grows into a tree of people and branches out into all the flowers of everybody else’s stories and their experiences, which is pretty cool.”
As the curtain opens on Palace’s newest era fuelled by their latest sonic odyssey, ready to be presented to the world on the stages all around the globe, Wyndham finds strength in the soothing resonance of music as he settles in the solace captured within the kaleidoscopic universe of the four friends’ art. As much as ‘Ultrasound’ is meant as a record for the fans, it is also there to help Wyndham work through the things that may not leave his mind and soul so easily and to connect with his more spiritual self: “Writing music is a way for me to make sense of the world and myself in it. I’ve had it with lots of songs, these are weird little prophecies about the future. I’m a firm believer that everything is connected. I think there is definitely some rhythm to life, and I believe in faith and that everything is mapped out for us in some way. We’re always seeing and receiving little signs, and the thing about music is that you can tap into this spooky channel of the world and its secrets. Even if you don’t know what it means or what it is that you’ve made, I think you’re tapping into these vibrations of the universe and the electricity in the air. I know I sound like a hippie, but I definitely believe in that.”
Through the pains of a life-altering catastrophe, Palace have created a record that serves as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the human experience and the importance of holding on to hope, as the singer concludes: “I’ve learned that in times of great pain, confusion and a feeling of being completely out of sync with the world, you can still find your way through and come to a better place than you were before. I think I’ve come to trust that, eventually, you’re going to get through it. And I’ve learned to appreciate the small things and live life as fully as I can.”
Written by Laura Weingrill // Photography by Adrian Lee