Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

If you're bored with the same old tunes and long for a band to take a fresh approach; if you like your music intricate and vibey; if you're not scared off by suites of songs lasting nearly a whole album that majestically sweep from one track to another, welcome to the wonderful world of Champion Birdwatchers. This really doesn't sound like anything else and it is brilliant!! These guys are all classically trained and the line up of voice, drums, bass, guitar and cello interpolate louder rock moments with mellow reflection (sometimes in the same song!) and simply spin a sound which is refreshing, unusual and wonderful to hear! Opening with a four song suite, each piece named after one of Jupiter's moons (I particularly like "IO") and this all sounds so pretentious on paper but it really works! Influenced by CS Lewis, lyrically and conceptually this album takes huge themes and then creates the music to sweep the listener along. My favourite moments are "Europa" with its unusual percussive rhythms and guitar and flute interlinked passages underpinning E Maxwell Johnson's rasping croaking vocals and the slow intensity of "Surface The Jellyfish". And any album which closes with a passage from the Bible sung in original Hebrew over some vibey guitar has to be labelled mindblowing! Lovers of Radiohead and prog rock need to check this out and quick because this band deserves huge attention!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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