Childhood are a band who I've only just been made aware of during the last week. Thank god for BBC 6Music, always a great place to hear new things. The excellent (and misleadingly titled) 'Solemn Skies' is the vibrant highlight of their debut album 'Lacuna', which is available now. It's like Britpop put through psych filter, epic, elevating and magnificent. Across the album, atmospheric indie pop, shoegaze guitars and big, melodic choruses are fused with accessible electro arrangements, resulting in a varied record. However, they're definitely better at the psych thing, which accounts for the best songs here, such as the other standout 'Pay For Cool'.At times they come across like Foals in terms of vocals and instrumentation, with the occasional dip into psych and shoegaze. As they alternate between two styles, parts of the record can often sound like two different bands, yet the tuneful appeal holds it all together.
