CHILDHOOD – Lacuna
01. Blue Velvet
02. You Could Be Different
03. As I Am
04. Right Beneath Me
05. Falls Away
06. Sweeter Preacher
07. Tides
08. Solemn Skies
09. Chiliad
10. Pay For Cool
11. When You Rise
Oh, childhood… you crazy bastard. A time of innocence and shelter. Well, at least if you count yourself to the persons who had one in that spirit. I must commit, it’s a lame and far too obvious start for a review of Lacuna, the long awaited debut album by talented British indie-rock newcomers CHILDHOOD. But in some way it’s also quite fitting as the band presents a melody-loving indie-rock that somehow reflects that innocence in its unconditional love for harmony. It’s a summer record, for kids, teens and indie-rock loving adults who remain young at heart.
The story of CHILDHOOD itself is not that spectacular. They formed at Nottingham University, originally as a two-piece. Founders Ben Romans-Hopcraft (vocals/guitar) and Leo Dobsen (guitar) started creating the obligatory bedroom demos before Daniel Salamons on bass and Jonny Williams on drums made them a full band in the end. Lacuna arrives two years after the bands first single, the uplifting Blue Velvet. No surprise that the dreamy piece also opens the band’s debut.
British producer heavyweight Dan Carey (BAT FOR LASHES, FRANZ FERDINAND, TOY) helped shaping the band’s sound and sharpened their skills. CHILDHOOD present a quite catchy form of psychedelic fuzz pop with a love for dreamy guitars, reverbs and sunny synthesizer moments. Somewhere between the quieter version of the FOALS, the easy going surf spirit of REAL ESTATE and the tropical pop appeal of FRIENDLY FIRES, just to name a few of the more famous recent ones.
Still, CHILDHOOD are always one step closer to pop than to shoegaze. They’ve got an undeniable love for sing-along chorus and you really don’t want to argue against this. Tracks like You Could Be Different or Sweeter Preacher are just too irresistible to not fall for them. ‘So tell what you wanna do and take me as I am / All the things left to lose and try to understand’ sings Romans-Hopcraft in the joyful single As I Am. And we really want his love interest to just take this curly cutie as he is. Damn!
Even when the band slows down its tempo in tender ballads like Right Beneath Me or Chiliad they keep a certain amount of psychedelic notion within their songs. Just the right material to dream yourself away on a lazy summer day. The songs on Lacuna are anthems of naive beauty, fantasies of fulfilled love and life. Not the right soundtrack for a cynical heart but clearly one for the remaining summer days. These guys have potential and it will be interesting to hopefully see them ‘growing up’ in the next years.
CHILDHOOD’s debut album ‘Lacuna’ is a joyful version of psychedelic indie-rock with charismatic protagonists and catchy little pop gems.
NBHAP Rating: 3,5/5
—