Candidate have been trying to rank among indie's big boys for a while now. Following the release of their debut album Taking on the Enemy's Sound, they were hailed as everything from the new REM to English folk revisionists. If the weight of expectation lies heavily on their shoulders, personable singer Joel Morris isn't showing it. He's far too happy with his toy tin flute for that. "One pound sixty-five," he beams. "But if I get panicky it squeals."
There's little chance of that happening. Candidate take the alt-country influence of Smog and Grandaddy and the passion of Harry Nilsson and create an almost nostalgic aural postcard, lovely, traditional songs with drip-drip rhythms and wistful melodies. The heart of the vision may be American, but within the effects-laden tracks of new album Tiger Flies there is a sense of British fields and windswept beaches.
"This is another sea shanty," Morris tells us, his black shirt and jeans in keeping with the lo-fi, unadorned mood of his music. As the drums unnerve the calm of The Wreck of the Breeze, Morris screws his eyes up, allowing the measured sound to wash over him.
Perhaps eager to chase away thoughts of beard-scratching seriousness, Candidate appear to be a bunch of lads who just happen to have a sensitive side. Alex Morris plays his guitar with unassuming confidence, happy to let his sibling steal the spotlight while he sticks to backing vocals. Ian Painter lingers over the bass chords of Hawaiian Police. Drummer Chris White paces himself even more slowly, his actions restricted and contained. The beanie hat that falls almost to his eyes never quivers as he taps the steely side of a drum.
Talk About Troubles is pared down to a shivering skeleton, a reverberating chord sending chills around the acoustic melody. The Morris brothers mesh nicely on the Simon and Garfunkel-like vocal harmonies, bringing sunshine to the cloudy melancholy. On Honey, Joel Morris sounds damaged but hopeful; as his acoustic guitar plays alone for just a breath, Candidate cease being wannabes and wade in with the best.
