NYC's Challenger drop "Back to Bellevue" LP today + Union Hall release show May 30

Artist: Challenger Album: Back to Bellevue Release Date: 05.27.2014 Label: self-released Website Facebook Twitter Soundcloud YouTube Stream/Share: "Sweater Weather" "With the cinematic builds, we might as well be awkwardly sharing cocoa with our teen love next to fire in a wood-paneled ski lodge..." - CMJ   "Back to Bellevue" "...an easily digestible slice of pop to fit into your daily musical diet." - My Old Kentucky Blog   "How Terrorism Brought Us Back Together" "...crisp, melodic synths and hook-filled choruses invoke a millennial, Yankee version of OMD." - PopMatters "...there’s more to this release than bright synthesizers and frontman John Ross’ often understated vocals." -Entertainment Weekly "...best electro-pop in NYC for three years now.” - 32 ft/sec “...a tantalizing melding of airy dream pop and erratic new wave, evoking soft-hand comparisons to Peter Gabriel.” - The 405 "...two for two on delivering solid indie electropop albums..." - Surviving the Golden Age “...an undeniable success for any fan of electro-indie.” - Vinyl Mag "...will easily shake up your sense of hearing like a swift kick to the face. (The good, jolt-you-back-to-life kind of kick, that is.)" - Consequence of Sound Challenger release sophomore LP Back to Bellevue today! Steam the album at Entertainment Weekly or on Soundcloud (cleared to share).  NYC RECORD RELEASE SHOW: Challenger, Art Decade, Silverbird Union Hall (702 Union St) Friday, May 30 | 8:30pm | $8 (tickets) Challenger is an indie band from New York City, helmed by producer/songwriter John Ross and rounded out by a backing band for live performances. Ross self-released Challenger’s debut LP The World Is Too Much for Me in 2012. The album’s epic pop sound drew comparisons to Small Black, Peter Gabriel, and Tanlines. The 405 called it “a wonderfully varied and solid piece of electronica” and Consequence of Sound added, “There is a grandiosity and bombast to each tune, echoing with the noise and reverb of polished sequences and crisp synth lines.” Stream Back to Bellevue at Entertainment Weekly. Back to Bellevue is the band's second full-length, which Ross wrote and recorded in his childhood bedroom in Florida, on an extended "vacation" from the hustle of Brooklyn life. Challenger's songs are cinematic, borrowing influences from Ross' work as a film and television composer. Back to Bellevue features vocal parts from Ian Dudley of Inner Outlaws and John Lawless of First Rate People.  Watch the album teaser by clicking here or the image below.   Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram