Champs - Vamala
Pick yourselves up, Champs, and try again.
Hailing from the Isle of Wight, Champs' first album, Down Like Gold, attracted considerable attention upon its release last year, largely on the back of a Radio 2 session for Dermot O'Leary. Now Michael and David Champion are back with a follow-up, but this time recorded in London with French producer Dimitri Tikovoi, and is an obvious attempt to widen their appeal without burning any of the old boats.
Unfortunately, whereas 'Down Like Gold' was a haunting collection of dreamy and sometimes heartbreaking songs in the spirit of Simon and Garfunkel or Fleet Foxes, Vamala seems unsure whether to commit to more of the same or whether to evolve a more contemporary sound. Confusingly it ends up falling between two stools. Desire, the first single, and the title track Vamala lurch somewhere between Hurts and MGMT, 3,000 Miles' adds an electro-pop drum machine only to end up like Emilia's Big Big World, and Blood tries unconvincingly at kicking off like a U2 anthem. Yet these are sandwiched between lyrical gems like Forever Be Upstanding At The Door, Roll Me Out and The Devil's Carnival, and it is these that work the magic for me, and continue to showcase the brothers at their best. Pick yourselves up, Champs, and try again.
5/10
