7/10

If you have tuned into any major radio station over the last six months or so, there is a chance that you would have come across Sports Team at some point. The hype and praise that has been showered onto these indie revivalists in recent times has been close to excessive, but thankfully most of their output to date has been well worth the repeat listens wherever we turn. And after almost a year of buzz beating us down, the band have finally released their long-awaited debut album 'Deep Down Happy', a record that doubles down on their bright and excitable direction.

The most appealing part of this new collection is coming up with all the bands that have influenced them in their sound throughout their career so far. There are notable moments of Maximo Park, Kaiser Chiefs and The Rakes all thrown into the melee, giving this album an instantly nostalgic flow as the outfit try hard to create something that not only comes off as more original but also more contemporary as well. The result is a perfectly well-balanced collection of indie bangers, albeit without many of the huge and instantly catchy anthems that made their influencers such household names in the first places.

In all, 'Deep Down Happy' is a perfectly enjoyable and boisterous full-length, but it has this unforgettable edge to it which makes us think that Sports Team may be more of a flash-in-the-pan group rather than one that will be riding this wave for another decade or so. Bold, energetic and fun throughout, but not something we would be coming back to in a year's time.