The latest release from The Audition, Champion, doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is, a snappy collection of 10 catchy & textured power pop songs. Bristling with elements of hard rock, punk, pop, new wave, and reggae, Champion is one of Victory Records' new releases that actually has broad appeal. It's hard not to imagine a fun song like "Heaven For the Weather" garnering radio or MTV appeal, as it has just enough memorable hooks for mainstream acceptance, but there's a certain 80's feel to the music that screams The Police, Rush, and Depeche Mode, all rolled into one, that would certainly appeal to an older audience as well as the younger crowd. Instrumentally, these guys are pretty tight, as the music features lots of crisp guitar work, plenty of tasty keyboards, and deep grooves. "Edinboro" has enough symphonic passages to reel in some of the prog crowd, and combined with some hard rock guitars and funk grooves, makes for a real standout track. Of course, with the good come the bad, and Champion also contains a fare share of sappy ballads and emo-rich generic fodder, like "What Gets You Through The Night", "Have Gun Will Travel", and "Ether", but overall the good prevails here, with tunes like "Basbhat", "Shady Business", and "Make It Rain" having plenty going for them, the latter with some inspired metal riffing and strong vocals to go along with killer hooks. The Audition have released a solid platter of enjoyable tunes here, nothing groundbreaking, but certainly 35 minutes of fun.
Track Listing
1. Basbhat
2. Warm Me Up
3. Heaven For The Weather
4. Edinboro
5. Hell To Sell
6. Ether
7. What Gets You Through The Night
8. Shady Business
9. Make It Rain
10. Have Gun, Will Travel
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