Onwards and upwards
Youthful four piece Touriste set their sights high on sun kissed new single 'Battle On'. In their heads, brothers Sam and Kris Harris (aided and abetted by Rob Wilks and Mike Dove) are playing a triumphant headline gig to the hordes at Alexandra Palace. Reminiscent of early Coldplay but with a more optimistic outlook Touriste have the driving guitars and soaring choruses that the masses will gulp up by the bucket load. With the epic factor cranked up by none other than 'Parachutes' era Coldplay producer Ken Thomas these teens look destined for the big league. While this single is rather derivative it displays more pop savvy and character than most of the clones that have followed in Chris Martin's wake. Harris' vocal performance on the equally lovely flip-side 'Shannon's Cannon' is particularly impressive, showing the emotive range and yearning qualities that give the band that extra edge.
On the evidence of this single Touriste won't be trawling around the nation's toilet circuit for much longer. The key now will be in replicating this form across a whole album, others (Longview, Thirteen Senses) have fallen at this hurdle before, hopefully Touriste won't suffer the same fate.