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.