State Champs
Overslept
Pure Noise
It’s just another pop punk EP. Another small clutch of three-chord bursts of equal parts angst and fun. A band destined to have its name emblazoned on the hoodies of teenage boys, and on patches safety pinned onto skinny jeans. There is nothing life-changing about State Champs’ Overslept EP, but does that matter? It’s unabashed pop punk à la New Found Glory, Blink 182, or Fall Out Boy. “Critical,” “We Are the Brave,” and “Remedy” are gonna sound eerily familiar because you’ve heard the essence of them a million times before. If you liked those simple power pops the first time around, then you’re gonna be drawn in, once again. It’s in the DNA – some people are just programmed at birth to fall victim to a simply constructed pop rock song. There’s no shame; it can’t be helped.
In a year piled high with politics, economic drain-circling, unspeakable violence, and end-of-the-world predictions, a few carefree power chords and songs about girls and growing up sounds damn near delicious! State Champs, a four-piece from upstate NY, make it so. I, too, am a life-long victim to the power chord.
State Champs: http://www.facebook.com/statechampsny
