Album Review: State Champs - 'State Champs'
Albany-hailing powerhouse of the pop-punk scene State Champs are all set to release their latest offering, a self-titled album that captures the essence of the band in a bottle.
Friday 8th of November sees pop-punk outfit State Champs release their self-titled album. The release marks the fifth album from the band and is certainly one to check out.
State Champs’ latest album opens with the song ‘The Constant’, and the high-energy, punchy track immediately kicks off the album in a truly recognisable State Champs style. ‘The Constant’, feels like it captures the band’s energy they put into their live shows perfectly and injects that energy into the album itself. The song kicks off the album full-force and feels like summer in a track, something that State Champs seem to be naturals at capturing in their music – their previous album, ‘Kings of the New Age’ felt like it was an album full of summer anthems.
The first release for the album was the single ‘Silver Cloud’, and if this track had been your first introduction to State Champs, it certainly makes you want to stick around and check out the rest of the album. Bassist Ryan Scott Graham explained that “when we stepped back and looked at the songs, sonically and thematically, it’s a great vision of who we are. Every era of State Champs exists within this record.” It’s easy to see how State Champs have become such an easily recognisable band within the pop-punk scene in the last decade, and it’s hardly surprising that during that time they’ve helped to introduce a new generation of music-lovers to the scene, while also heavily contributing to the ever-changing sonic landscape of the pop punk world.
The track ‘Light Blue’ starts off a little slower before building into a bright and energetic melody. The punchy chorus’ energy is catchy, and it’s hard not to enjoy the track – it almost feels like this track is State Champs to their very core. If you were to take a bunch of State Champs’ songs and add them to a playlist that you thought summed up the band sonically, this song would most likely be one to make an appearance on that playlist.
‘I Still Want To’ encapsulates the struggles following a break up and wanting to reach out to that one specific person, even though you know that you probably shouldn’t. It’s nice in a way to know that you’re not alone in those complex feelings, especial when it can feel so alienating at the time. It gives us a moment to feel seen and to reflect on our own emotions, and to be proud of ourselves for overcoming and growing from things we once thought we wouldn’t be able to.
The album closes with the track ‘Golden Years’, and in the current climate of the world we’re living in, our perspective on what may be our golden years have shifted – something which seems to be echoed in this song. It’s becoming increasingly harder to know what our future may look like, and it encourages us in a way to just slow down and live our life one day at a time.
State Champs’ latest release comes ahead of the North American tour that takes place throughout November and December. The band will be joined on tour by Knuckle Puck, Meet Me at the Altar and Daisy Grenade. State Champs are closing out the year on a high note, and if you think that they’ll struggle to top this album with their next release, if there’s one thing we know about State Champs it’s that they always come back bigger and better than last time.
Words by Bethany Ellis
