Reviews
Album review: State Champs – State Champs
State Champs’ fifth album finds the Albany band relishing in pop-punk’s glory years.
Albany pop-punks State Champs are coming for an underplay tour. Evidence says: it'll be swell.
State Champs aren't doing too badly since the release of last year's Living Proof album. Look at them, proudly showing off the big venues they've started playing in the new video for Frozen. But they're not just boasting – they're celebrating how important playing live is to them. So, they got their old mate Elliot Ingham (who filmed the band's Around The World And Back DVD) to shoot them live.
"We wanted to do a live video with our old pal Elliott for a couple reasons," explains guitarist Tyler Szalkowski. "One, we missed him. Two, because we believe our live set is an important element to our songs. They slap on record but really come to life live.”
Check it out for yourself below…
It comes just as the band return to the UK for Download and a series of underplay shows. Because while the big stages are lovely, frontman Derek Discanio likes getting back into the sweat and stink of smaller places every now and then.
“We wanted to go back to the type of shows we’ve always loved to play," he grins. "Hot, sweaty, intimate, energetic small gigs where we can scream in each others faces. Come stage dive.”
You heard the man. Get on it at the following dates
June
15 Southampton Engine Rooms
16 Download Festival
17 London Camden Underworld
18 Newcastle Riverside
19 Bristol Fleece