State Champs – “Around The World And Back” [Album Review]

Sometimes nothing can beat a good blast of sugary sweet pop-punk. There is something heartwarming and mood-lifting about bouncy, hook-filled slices of easy-on-the-ear pop-inspired punk. Taking Around The World And Back as an example then, it’s hard not to stick State Champs up there at the top of the list of bands who fit this description.

Where Around The World And Back really succeeds is down to the fact that it sits comfortably in the middle of the pop and the punk spectrum. Songs like “Losing Myself” literally shit massive pop hooks out of every orifice but, at the same time, have enough rock cred to put them in a box that is visited frequently by bands like Simple Plan, All Time Low and Bowling For Soup. A riotous lesson in pop-infused punk “All You Are Is History” is Bowling For Soup without the knob gags while “All Or Nothing” has arena-filling, lighter-waving hit written all over it.

A huge sounding album, Around The World And Back isn’t just about the hooks and the bouncy bits though, as “Around The World And Back” demonstrates. Lyrically, the New York youngsters avoid the usual traits of the pop-punk genre turning in a more heartfelt, dare I say it, more mature display when, in all honesty, it would have been no surprise to see them singing songs about shagging and partying, given the youthful exuberation they display throughout this record.

At the end of the day though, Around The World And Back is a pop-punk record when you look to the basics. It’s a very mature, grown-up pop-punk record but it’s still a pop-punk record. That being said, if you’ve had the kind of day that you’ve been waiting to see the back off, this kind of honest, heartwarming, pop-inspired rock is probably just the thing you need.

Track Listing:

01. Eyes Closed
02. Secrets
03. Losing Myself
04. All You Are Is History
05. Perfect Score
06. All or Nothing
07. Shape Up
08. Back And Forth
09. Around the World and Back
10. Breaking Ground
11. Tooth And Nail

Run Time: 36:02
Release Date: October 16, 2015

Check out the song “All You Are Is History”