Third Atomic Number

The Nottingham duo’s third long-player in two years is their longest and, dare I say, most adventurous and beautiful offering yet. They continue to hone in on their talent for dizzyingly kaleidoscopic textures in first track "Meanie”, but elevate them somehow. It’s a blissful, catchy, trance-y dreamlike anthem - a readymade Talvin Singh remix from an imagined CD single part 1 that fans prefer to the radio mix. Think latter Siouxsie and the Banshees/early Primal Scream. “Mystery One” continues the spacey, blissful mood, taking its cues more from vintage William Orbit.

The album continues, bringing their trademark languid funk to the fore, sometimes highlighting Asa’s irreverent side with fat, fuzzy synths. Sometimes reminiscent of The Cure at their most palatably whimsical. “Machine Is A Gemini” may sound at first listen like the soundtrack to an arcade game in Akihabara but then you realise you’re being called a knobhead. It’s quintessential Champyun Clouds, really. The second half introduces some darker textures (it must be said that Nail and Asa are very good at sequencing). “It’s Defo You” gives this listener Moby vibes. There’s vintage robotic vocals, fat synths and Balearic beats. Towards the end, things get funky again. And then there’s the unexpected 20 minute closer; “Side Six”, which starts by putting us on a stoned spaceship, tuning an AM radio through various displaced stations until we pick up a broadcast by guest artist and playwright Sophie Diver, who recites a vivid short story about a cleaning lady’s shift in an art gallery before the ghostly hand begins to turn the dial once more and eventually closes us out by way of psychedelic lounge-y samples and the odd cacophony.

Champyun Clouds always seem to have a distinct air of being painstakingly recorded on reel-to-reel analogue equipment. I wouldn’t describe myself as an audiophile or analogue purist (in fact, I think those people are usually tiresome wankers), and would never be as patronising and twee to say that I find their whole sonic vibe “charming”, but there is an unmistakeable warmth and detail to the quality of their sound that is instantly enjoyable to me. They often seem to be unknowingly beamed direct from a galaxy somewhere in the 90s and I’m certainly not complaining.