Champs – Savannah
Wonky pop heartbreak from the Isle Of Wight's own Everly Brothers.
Together, the massed, multi-tracked voices of brothers David and Michael Champion sound oddly – and appealingly – like a choir of Stevie Nickses, or perhaps Shirley and Dolly Collins: glassy and romantic, slightly nasal and undeniably girlish. It’s an uncommon trick for two brothers from Ventnor, Isle Of Wight, and one that helps to distinguish their new single from all the other shimmering, euphoric pop music that has successfully slipstreamed the Arcade Fire in recent years.
Recorded in the time-locked splendour of an old water tower in the grounds of Queen Victoria’s island retreat Osborne House, Savannah is a silvery shiver of a song with an exalted piano riff, rapturous builds and downy breakdowns – effortlessly melodic and knowing but with a real melancholic lyrical bent (“You were my sweet, slow Carolina / Desolate in the end”) that suggests the social limitations of island life may have impacted upon the boys’ love lives more than their music practice. You can imagine it being the wistful soundtrack to Molly Ringwald’s bedroom in the Breakfast Club.
Watch the video here...
The single points ahead to Champs' debut album, Down Like Gold, slated for release on Play It Again Sam in February 2014, from which SoundCloud previews another two tracks, both evincing a more pastoral drift that contrasts with Savannah’s lofty pop ambition.
If you like the sound of all this, keep an eye out for Champs on the road in 2014. Dates below...
Mon 24th Feb Nottingham Rescue Room w/The Jezabels Tue 25th Feb Manchester Gorilla w/The Jezabels Wed 26th Feb Glasgow Oran Mor w/The Jezabels Fri 28th Feb Belfast Limelight 2 w/The Jezabels Sat 1st March Dublin Button Factory w/The Jezabels Sun 2nd March Dublin Button Factory w/The Jezabels Tue 4th March Bristol The Fleece w/The Jezabels Wed 5th March London Shepherds Bush Empire w/The Jezabels Thurs 6th March Brighton Concorde 2 w/The Jezabels
