Challenger have released their debut album The World Is Too Much For Me. The album was (at least partly) thought up while two of the band members were working on the soundtrack of the film ’Not Waving But Drowning’ and the press release says that the record is inspired by looking out over the city lights of Lower Manhatten. While this may all sound romantic and lovely, the other key theme on the album is desperation. To quote the blurb:
’Challenger began out of desperation. Desperate to feel better, desperate to escape, desperate for something more. Challenger is that cry. Alone, or together, the cry that sounds like a plea but builds momentum and becomes a force of change, of light, of positivity, of love; a change you can dance to.’
The result is a just that. A juxtaposition of frightened whispered lyrics, cool 80s beats reminiscent of Drive, and the upbeat piano of Paul Simon. It is desperation looking for positivity. It is anxiety and heartbreak that you can dance to. It is pop music at it’s finest.
Listen to a track below, stream the album over at Consequence Of Sound, and buy the album on iTunes and the like.
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