Although they haven’t had a hit single in almost 20 years, Faithless remain a potent commercial force, continuing to rack up festival headline sets and big-selling albums. Longterm member Maxi Jazz left the band in 2016 but Champion Sound is the first album by remaining duo Rollo and Sister Bliss since his death in 2022. It is overlong at more than 75 minutes, but its four distinct sections pass in a warm MDMA throb.
The quartet of song-suites are each themed. The first, entitled Forever Free, is introduced by Jazz prior to three tracks of pulsing head-nod. “In Your Own Groove”, with its hackneyed request to “let the music set you free”, features regular collaborator L.S.K. who asks us to tune into our intuition. You get the new age drift. This then morphs into seven-and-a-half minutes of chugging 4/4 cuddliness. It’s not original but it is involving.
“Side 2”, AKA Phone Number, featuring vocalists Amelia Fox and Nathan Ball, contains three songs. They seem to be about finding love, possibly while clubbing (“I like how he changed when the pills kick in”). They’re as balmy as an E’d-up chat-up in a 1990s clubland “back room”. The clock-tick rhythmed “Thinking” is particularly congenial.
Part three, Book of Hours, “sees Sister Bliss pay homage to DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing and Café Del Mar”, according to the press release. It’s much more the latter than the former, a 24-minute downtempo noodle, seamed with cod-classical sounds and melodics, akin to Above & Beyond having a less frantic moment.
Finally, the titular fourth section, sees Faithless have at the dancefloor. There are no “Insomnia”s or “God is a DJ”s, but the five cuts acquit themselves well enough, including vocals by Streets-like Suli Breaks and US pop singer Bebe Rexha. The “Superstylin’”-ish title song and the Afro-trancey “Yes, I Want it Too” are notably nifty.
With Champion Sound, Faithless calmly proclaim business as usual. And a friendly Balearic bubblebath it is too.
Below: Watch the visualiser for the 17-minute Phone Number section of Faithless's Champion Sound album
