Peter and Michael Champion master the art of charmed romanticism on their impressive debut album Down Like Gold. The Isle of Wight brothers steal from REM’s Country Feedback for 8MM Desire’s forlorn lyric, “It’s crazy what you could have had” and this album has a similar mood to Out of Time, taking the pain of failed romance and turning it into a whole load of pretty.
Wallowing melancholia is balanced out with fist-pumping euphoria on instantly impacting singles Savannah and My Spirit Is Broken. They’re close in spirit to chart-busting Brit bands such as Keane and Idlewild, but the Champs manage to avoid sounding like workmanlike bores. The power of these two uptempo songs is heightened by them being surrounded with a bevy of stripped-back ballads, all of which need more time to soak in and be properly appreciated. The frosty folk of St Peters is the most affecting, though it soon becomes clear that the simpler, more spacious compositions are the glue that holds this collection together.
Down Like Gold doesn’t pack the punch of a champion, but its lamenting spirit is bound to leave a few bruises.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: My Spirit Is Broken
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Fleet Foxes FLEET FOXES, For Emma, Forever Ago BON IVER, Out Of Time REM
In A Word: Wounded
