State Champs – 'The Acoustic Things' EP Review

State Champs – 'The Acoustic Things' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Elevated

2. Deadly Conversation

3. Hard to Please

4. Simple Existence

5. Easy Enough

6. Leave You In The Dark

7. If I'm Lucky 

The new generation of pop-punk is one of the hottest topics surrounding the current rock scene and last year, New York quintet State Champs secured their spot in the limelight with their first full-length record, The Finer Things, which was undoubtedly one of the best debuts produced in a while. Since then, the boys have been busy teasing us with the anticipated release of their acoustic EP The Acoustic Things, the Sunday morning to The Finer Things’ Saturday night.

The EP primarily consists of renditions of older songs: Elevated, Deadly Conversations, Hard to Please, Simple Existence and Easy Enough. The majority are replicas of their originals, with nothing new to offer besides an acoustic guitar - some listeners may feel a bit cheated at the lack of imagination shown in these performances. Far from being purely acoustic and stripped of all else, tambourines and finger snaps fill out the spaces previously occupied by drums, with the occasional piano key making an appearance in Elevated.

New tracks Leave You In The Dark and If I’m Lucky are reminiscent of Mayday Parade’s 2011 self-titled album, with the occasional added grit from vocalist Derek Discanio. These two songs are pleasantly delicate and soft, brimming with the emotion and angst that keeps these tranquil tracks firmly in the pop-punk frame.

Probably the highlighting feature of The Acoustic Things is that by toning it down, State Champs perfectly showcase Discanio’s mix of soft and gravelly vocals that the electric originals just can’t expose. The Acoustic Things is a great treat for existing fans, but if you’re on the fence about where to invest your cash, The Finer Things would be a far better investment. 

Mayday Parade - The Cockpit, Leeds 8/10/12 Live Review

Mayday Parade – The Cockpit, Leeds

Monday 8^th October 2012

Embarking on their seventh tour in the UK since the band started in 2006, Florida five-piece Mayday Parade had quite a turnout at The Cockpit in Leeds.

     The night was kicked off by an almost unknown band, Natives, and the crowd were hesitant as to what to expect. However, Natives’ short-lived set had the crowd roaring within ten minutes, leaving a great anticipation rippling throughout the crowd for indie rock group For The Foxes. The band domineered the stage and had the entire venue cheering for them after vocalist Nicholas Dungo performed a heart-felt acoustic song that won the crowd over before ending their set with a rockier tune that left an eager audience for Arizonian pop-rock band The Summer Set.

     The Summer Set stormed the stage, kicking off their set with popular song 'Chelsea' that had every fan in the audience singing along and every person in the venue joined in with their catchy tune 'Fuck You Over', a song  that got the whole crowd moving and swaying to the music. The Summer Set left on a high, leaving the crowd roaring to go in the wait for the most anticipated act of the night, Mayday Parade.

     Mayday Parade began their set with 'Oh Well, Oh Well', a song from their latest self-titled album that sent a shiver of exhilaration through the crowd and continued their set throughout the night that consisted mainly of songs from their second album, 'A Lesson in Romantics'.  Of course, 'Miserable at Best' and 'Stay' conjured a few tears in the audience before the band  completed their set with explosive songs such as 'When I Get Home You’re So Dead' and 'Black Cat'.
    Overall, there could be no complaints to be made about the night. The support bands were definite crowd pleasers, Derek Sander’s vocals were flawless and the band as a whole  were charismatic and enthusiastic, making full use of the stage and manipulating its potential to create an atmosphere so  dynamic that the night was a complete success.