Champs - Down Like Gold

Whether its the Everly Brothers, Disclosure or Tegan and Sara, there’s something magical about the music siblings create together. Michael and David Champion, aka Champs, are further proof of this.

Recorded in an old water tower on their native Isle of Wight, they richly evoke a seaside sensbility on their debut, which takes its cues from Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. The pair confess the album is almost entirely about failed relationships, and even the bouncier tracks are packing some seriously melancholic lyrics, most notably ‘Pretty Much (Since Last November)’ and ‘Savannah’, where they sing: “You were my sweet, slow Carolina/Desolate in the end.”

The brothers have said they both love “that sense of awe you get hearing voices in a cathedral.” Champs are at their best when they allow the echoes take over. The beautiful ‘St Peters’, with its ghostly vocals, guitar and organ, is the track on which they truly make their mark.

Down Like Gold may struggle to be heard over the din of the bands that influenced it. Still, as a debut it is more than worth your attention.