| The Chapters | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Labels | 3ú Records[1][2] |
| Associated acts | The Coronas[2] |
| Website | http://www.thechapters.com/ |
| Members | |
| Ross McNally Simon Eustace Michael Murphy Ciaran Fortune |
|
| Past members | |
| Turlough Gunawardhana | |
The Chapters are a five-piece indie rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band is composed of Ross McNally, Simon Eustace, Turlough Gunawardhana, Michael Murphy, and Ciaran Fortune. They have released one album titled Perfect Stranger and this has spawned several singles.
The Chapters have featured on a number of radio and television stations in Ireland, including Dublin's 98, Today FM RTÉ 2fm and Phantom FM[2] since the release of their album and have performed at several festivals such as Castlepalooza, Indie-pendence and Oxegen. They also performed at the Arthur's Day celebrations. In 2008, they supported more established musicians such as Chuck Berry, Cathy Davey and Neil Young.[3] Their music has also been used by RTÉ as well as by UK broadcaster ITV in its soap opera Emmerdale.[4]
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The Chapters have been compared to several artists and bands by the Irish media, including The Blue Nile,[5] Bruce Springsteen,[5] The Cars,[5] Fleetwood Mac,[5] The Frames,[6] The Hold Steady,[7] Snow Patrol[5] Sparks,[5] and Talking Heads.[5] The voice of vocalist McNally has been likened to Guy Garvey and Peter Gabriel.[7]
Several EPs and singles were released early in the band's career, including "The Indecision of Arthur Molloy" whilst they were signed with Smart As Records.[6] Hot Press heralded the single as "further proof" of "the middle of a new dawn for the Dublin music scene".[6] The arrival of more difficult financial times almost finished the abdn off before they had gotten round to recording their debut album.[2] After recording approximately thirty demos of their work, they submitted them to a company which wished to invest in a new record label in Ireland.[2] Contact had been made with internationally recognised producers such as Ethan Johns, with the band hoping to work with producers who had worked with acts such as Kings of Leon or Ryan Adams.[2] However, following the collapse of a bank elsewhere, the company pulled out of the deal putting the debut album of The Chapters in jeopardy.[2] The band were saved by fellow band The Coronas, with contact being made by Turlough Gunawardhana with lead singer Danny O'Reilly prompting a meeting with their record label 3ú Records who signed them immediately.[2]
Signed by 3ú Records,[1] the lead single, titled "Videotapes", from their debut album was released on 1 May 2009 and launched at The Academy music venue in Dublin the previous night.[8] The Chapters released their debut album Perfect Stranger on 3ú Records, on 5 June 2009.[1][8] Hot Press praised the album for its "irresistibly catchy tracks" and singled out "Videotapes"—released as a download single— for its "glorious blend of Fleetwood Mac and The Blue Nile".[5] entertainment.ie gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying that it was "at ease with itself, traversing timelines to be modern without trying to be hip, trendy or cool".[7]
The Chapters played several festivals around Ireland during the summer of 2009. They performed on the Hot Press New Bands Stage at Oxegen 2009 at Punchestown Racecourse in County Kildare on 12 July.[9] They performed at Castlepalooza in Tullamore and Indie-pendence at Mitchelstown in County Cork in early August.[1][10]
On 23 July 2009, alongside artists and comedians such as Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, David Kitt and Eric Lalor, The Chapters performed at a special free event witnessed by two hundred people on board a train as part of the twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART).[2][11]
Debut single "Videotapes" was played on radio.[12] "Trying to Get Ahead", the second single from Perfect Stranger, was released on 24 July 2009.[2] 3ú Records anticipates that there will be four more singles from that album, a claim which Turlough Gunawardhana has described as "crazy but cool".[2] The Chapters participated in the Arthur's Day events in Dublin on 24 September 2009.[2][13] The band performed a half-time show at a Magners League match between Leinster and Munster and appeared at The Music Show in the RDS.[3][4] "Moving" was the third single released from the album.[3] They then toured with The Coronas and performed a six-date tour which ended with a show in The Academy on 20 November 2009.[12] They performed at some of the fundraising shows which were organised in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[14][15][16] "Black Room", the fourth single from Perfect Stranger, was released as a digital download on March 5, 2010, accompanied by a national Spring Tour.[17] On March 19, 2010, the band were announced as one of the first acts expected to perform at that year's Indie-pendence.[18] They will also perform at Livestock in Kells, County Meath on 5 June 2010.[19]