Setting the vibe with intricate layered guitars and an enigmatic alternative rock energy, The Chamberlains aka Mike Stephens opens his latest single Last Night in Norwich with the conceptual lyrics, “Nuclear fallout, inside the shelter, door swung open, Helter Skelter. Still life splattered, upon the floor, flashbulb memories, burned in lore…”
We love the soundscape that The Chamberlains expresses, which is immersive, high concept and designed with poetic nuance. He reminds us a little of The Smiths or The Cure, but with his own cerebral identity.
Speaking on Last Night in Norwich, Mike Stephens describes the song as “a nocturne-inspired single comprised of shivering guitars, heaving synth strings and macabre lyrics inspired by one of the most twisted chapters in American history and the 20th century.”
The song expands to include lyrical highlights such as the dark “Undue burdens and backstreet surgeons, trembling fingers, stead with bourbon”, and the intense “Wire apparatus and ultra-violence, walls torn open, sound of silence…”, along with a textured guitar solo outro that has us hypnotized.
We are obsessed with the narrative-based story telling that the Sydney-based rising artist delivers with his creative vision, and his moody commentary on the darker side of society.
Mike has found himself inspired by the music and lyrical content of artists such as Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Nick Cave, which we can feel come through in this composition, although it is clear that he is creating a dimension of his own.
We have added Last Night in Norwich to our New Music Spotlight playlist and have also been exploring The Chamberlains’ debut album Kingdom of the Swine (2021) which has been described as a “brash and daring mix of garage and post-punk inspired rock and sardonic lyricism exploring themes of youth, isolation, gentrification, hearsay and masculinity.”