Michael and David Champion – the brothers born and raised in Isle of Wight who make up the dynamic duo of Champs – have released their new album The Hard Interchange, three years in the making.

After debuting their album Down Like Gold to critical acclaim in 2014, Champs have been stunning their fans with their unique brand of pop-rock melodies and heartfelt lyrics, and their long-awaited third album is no different. “This album has nearly killed us, broken us and saved our lives simultaneously”, explains Michael.

We asked the brothers to curate us a playlist of the songs that inspired the new record…

I love the instrumentation and the fact that the mood keeps changing between happy and sad in this song. I also really enjoy the quite bizarre backing vocal which comes in near the end.

This is quite simply one of those songs I’ll never get sick of. I really enjoy the relative scarcity of the instrumentation and the main riff reminds me of childhood.

One of those songs I’ll always come back to. The lyrics are amazing and the time signature is so strange but so perfect. From one of my all-time favourite albums.

I’m still as enchanted by this track as when I first heard it. I love it’s apocalyptic feel. There’s something really chilling in the way she talks about the “American planes”. As an artist you’re obviously always striving to make something that feels original yet has a familiarity that the listener can relate to and I think she’s almost created the blue print for that with this track. I think it’s a real masterclass in repetition and minimalism and I love the fact that such a bizarre piece of music was a top ten hit!

I’ve listened to this track so many times this year which usually ends up ruining a song for me but this one seems impossible to get bored of. The way the intensity builds is really subtle but by the end you’re just completely encapsulated by the vulnerability and sincerity of his vocal. “Miki Dora” bought a rebellious, violent attitude to the sport of surfing and I feel Amen Dunes has really paid a worthy tribute to that in this performance. Always a winner at parties too!