Sam Champion- Be Mine Everyone E.P
Sam Champion have hit us with a bombardment of band information and awesome reviews. So much so, I think I know what colour socks the boys were wearing the day that everybody decided that the placement of their heads was not quite far up the band's arses. This mass of support has come on the back of the U.S only release, of debut album "Slow Remind" in 2005. It's taken two years to cross the border yet the main question is whether or not these guys are worth the wait.
My initial reaction was of dislike towards Sam Champion- primarily because they look as though they seek the appraisal they have received just so they can gloat on press releases. Shallow perhaps but this is multiplied by the pretty average image they throw at us, touched up with a glamourised American Killers-esque likeness. With the commercial odds stacked against them, I was never going to be an easy target to please.
Cold War Kids and Hot Hot Heat are my immediate comparisons, with earlier worries of attitude driven Kasabian and substance happy Doherty knocked afar within the first thirty seconds. It's a chirpy start and slowly but surely, the harshness in my reaction to their stance, or their silly hats that perhaps actually make them look rather endearing is slowly wearing away.
They are almost sitting on the edge of success, calling out for radio one to pick up their three track CD "Be Mine Everyone" and overplay it in typical Radio One fashion. The first two tracks are taken from their forthcoming album and are delightful fusions of pop and soft Rock. UK dates for November are soon to be announced, a band most definitely worth checking out in a small gig venue you can talk about throughout the entire queue outside their second sell out tour two years later.