Photo Credit: Manuel Barajas
State Champs are a band that embody all of the addictive qualities of modern-day pop punk: catchy-as-hell choruses, energetic guitar melodies and relatable lyrics on the joys and tribulations of growing up. After popping around the scene for over 14 years, they decided that 2024 was the year to share with the world the big, shiny State Champs trophy, albeit a cracked one on the cover of their self-titled album.
Vocalist Derek DiScanio said, “This is the right time to showcase it,” with bassist Ryan Scott Graham adding, “When we stepped back and looked at the songs, sonically and thematically, it’s a great vision of who we are.” After listening to the 12-course State Champs feast that is their fifth album, it is clear that DiScanio, Graham, guitarist Tyler Szalkowski, and drummer Evan Ambrosio are not ready to pass on their “modern-day pop-punk torchbearer” (Billboard, 2018) status anytime soon.
If all of our favourite bands were thrill-seeking risk-takers, there would be far too much anxiety surrounding new album releases and more anxiety is not something this world needs. That State Champs are risk-averse, consistent producers of pop-punk anthems is just one of the reasons why we love them. While their self-titled fifth album might not contain much innovation, what it does offer is track after catchy track of undeniable State Champs singalongs. Get this album added to your road trip playlist right away.
The album opener, The Constant, bounces in with a melancholic guitar melody and embittered lyrics about a failed relationship from the band’s solo single member. Single Silver Cloud is a poppy plea to “get back to basics somehow”; DiScanio’s vocals shine through as he emotively belts out the desire to return to simpler, more exciting times. Clueless and Light Blue deliver this album’s answers to Secrets and Dead and Gone: big anthemic displays of passion that will have live crowds singing along word for word.
Too Late To Say and I Still Want To are gorgeous portrayals of the lost in love, the feel like we’re back in high school emotions that State Champs do so well and we fall for them snappy hook, line and sinker. Veering closer to the pop end of the pop-punk spectrum are Hell Of It and Sobering. The tempo remains at a head bop rather than bang pace, giving us the chance to reflect on the “cheap wine” and “sobering” lyrics and wistful melodies. The pop-punk urgency is ramped up in Tight Grip, with catchy verses of anticipation-building drum beats that lead into climactic choruses, which challenge you not to scream out “why are you like this”.
The off-beat drumming and chomping bass in Just A Dream, coupled with yet another catchy hook, make it an exciting standout track. The tempo changes have us trying to catch our breath, but with DiScanio’s increasingly iconic vocals in our ears, this is no challenge. German hardcore funk band Slope join State Champs in their penultimate track, Save Face Story, adding a groovy edge to the already punchy song (and Graham’s personal favourite on the record). The album closer Golden Years is equal part lyrical nostalgia, equal part musical promise.
State Champs’ State Champs is the album that almost wasn’t: initially planned as a 4-track EP, we owe our thanks to Boys Like Girls singer Martin Johnson for encouraging the band to keep going and produce this gloriously unsurprising and comforting pop punk record. The space in our hearts for State Champs is only getting bigger and we are buzzing to see this album live on their European tour at the start of next year, with support from The Home Team and Broadside.
7/10
Standout Tracks: Light Blue, Tight Grip, Just a Dream
For Fans Of: All Time Low, The Wonder Years, Neck Deep
Written by: Lucy Dunnet
