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Slowed down and keyboarded up, these tunes make what cares they do bear seem lyrical--carefree.
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The push-and-pull between the desire to charge ahead and to create something deeper-presuming the latter is what they're after-makes Champ a compelling, joyous listen, especially once it's had a few spins to sink in.
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Again, like their previous work, 'Champ' is a short and sweet affair - but not one to miss or forget.
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Back with less pressure, Champ packs that sweet sucker-punch we craved the first time around.
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Does this sophomore effort, then, live up to the expectations created by its predecessor? In most ways, yes. In others, perhaps not.
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Alternative PressTokyo Police Club retain their enthusiasm with Champ; they just want to show off the new tricks in their pony show. [Jul 1010, p.130]
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Tokyo Police Club get back to doing their favorite thing: Playing their hearts out, two or three minutes at a time.
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The new album is hardly a huge leap from Elephant Shell in most senses, but it does find TPC reaching out, growing more comfortable, and letting loose.
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Champ as a whole isn't the most coherent album I've ever heard, and a maturing sound isn't the easiest thing to develop and capture on a record.
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Tokyo Police Club have readjusted their approach-a much leaner, Strokes-ier brand of indie rock, which allows them to continue to play to their strengths while conveniently avoiding the missteps that held them back before.
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Under The RadarChamp, their second album, shows a slight advancement from Elephant Gun, with more complicated song structures and more creative instrumentation. [Summer 2010, p.86]
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With Champ they have rekindled the catchiness and immediacy of their first offering.
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Champ sees Tokyo Police Club with a firmer grip on their sound, their vision, and their conquest; and although not destroying expectations, it makes good on a lot of the promises their earliest work showed off.
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UncutChamp sees TPC breathing deeper and taking a wider view. [Aug 2010, p.102]
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Give them a couple more albums, and this thoughtful young band might become a touchstone for the next generation of prematurely nostalgic indie-rock upstarts.
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Each track on this Canadian quartet's second full-length opens with some clever reshuffling of precise drum pecks, TV-hum synths, Strokes-like guitar, and David Monks' reedy, wry vocals. Three minutes later, you're left with the mildly pleasing, indistinct memory of yelped choruses, mathy breakdowns, and mid-tempo breeziness.
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Champ might have its fair share of weak spots (basically the back third), yet it's another proficient album from one of the more (still) promising young bands around.
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Champ is still a melodic, eclectic record, but it often feels like the work of some other band.
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There's nothing supremely bad about this record, but there are no surprises either. It's just--well, there.
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Q MagazineThey have their moments, including the electro-rock riffs on Bambi, but elsewhere the lack of variety soon grates. [Sep 2010, p.121]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 34 out of 38
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Mixed: 2 out of 38
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Negative: 2 out of 38
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Jun 7, 2011
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Apr 2, 2022Champ from Tokyo Police Club is interesting and a great album with good songs although some are not as memorable as others
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Oct 8, 2010