Challenger released their sophomore LP, Back to Bellevue, today.  Steam the album at Entertainment Weekly or on Soundcloud.
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.”
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.