The very second after the final chord was struck on Childhood’s 2017 Great Escape set I was counting down to the release of this record. A show made up of completely new material, I was intrigued as to how the Brixton band would transfer this completely revamped sound in the studio.

No one sets out to make the same album twice, but if you were to listen to Universal High and Lacuna side-by-side you’d struggle to make out it was the same artist. The debut was a delicious mix of shimmering guitars and dreamy pop that sometimes manifested into spinning whirls of shoegaze, whereas this release is equally as brilliant, but with a multitude of soul, funk and pop-infused influences appearing throughout.

The melodies that made its predecessor so appealing are still present, but the ten tracks here are more thought out and complex. Having started sessions in France before retreating to the States to work with producer Ben Allen, the whole group – Ben Romans-Hopcraft, Leo Dobsen, Thomas Fiquet, Max Fantin and drummer Jonny Williams – looked to have developed their musicianship for Universal High.

Hopcraft and Dobsen co-wrote the first record back in their Nottingham University days, whereas this time around the former returned to his mother's flat in South London – a flat in which soul memorabilia drapes the walls and soul records bleed from the speakers: “My mum’s a massive soul fanatic and I think it eventually started seeping into my room. Her radio’s actually right next to my door. By the end she was noticing it. She would listen to The Jones Girls then ten minutes later, it’d be blazing out of my speakers. There’s definitely been a little exchange which is cool,” explained the frontman.

Hopcraft has even developed his falsetto vocal for this album, which is evident straight away on opener ‘A.M.D.’s slow jam. The same occurs in first single ‘Californian Light’ with its effortless sun-kissed optimism. Meanwhile, second single ‘Cameos’ lusciously unhurried grove keeps things ticking along before the stomping ‘Too Old For My Tears’ hints at Motown inspirations with its “Oh baby” sing-along chorus.

The gloriously cathartic title track is then as much sensuous as it is euphoric before ‘Understanding’ take proceedings down a notch. The brilliant, unashamedly radio-friendly pair of ‘Don’t Have Me Back’ and ‘Nothing Ever Seems Right’ soon follow and will both likely make it to single release. Closer ‘Monitor’ then ends proceedings in gorgeous fashion as spacey synthetics and a funky bassline tussle for possession in an infectious, groove-led final three minutes.

“We wanted to make sure we could have all these influences but still make sure we weren’t trying to be a soul band. You can never really forget your D.N.A. as a band,” said Hopcaft. Childhood have done exactly that and, in the process, made themselves one of the country’s most thought-provoking ‘guitar’ groups, whilst simultaneously leaving a number of curious avenues open for the third LP.
Paul Hill

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