Little Champions - Transactions + Replications
(Barsuk)
Is it cool to like the B-52s? I know a long time ago it pretty much
wasn't cool to like them, with their beehive hairdos and silly songs,
but then Steve Albini recorded Fred, and then maybe for kitsch appeal
it became acceptable. Is it cool to like them today, though? I can't
really write any more of this review until I figure that out.
Little Champions is a fairly standard indie pop group with mismatched
male/female vocals. There's nothing remarkable about them, but there
are a few moments where everything clicks and the hooks find some
meat in your brain to grab hold of. These moments are usually when
the band is the most calm and subdued, sounding very much like Versus.
"Low Flying Plane" is a piano ballad for the male singer, singing
in a pseudo-British accent, as the female singer sings in a soft voice
in the background. "Beverly" is a similar song with a superior chorus
section but less pure sound. "Kind Radio" sounds like every ballad
Fontaine Toups has ever sung for Versus. It is pretty, though.
The lyrics are, in general, well done, for instance rhyming "etiquette"
with "forget about it" and using the imagery of a "Low Flying
Plane" to convey impending tragedy.
While there certainly are some hits, there are some misses as well--songs
that call out styles that aren't particularly appealing, like
the aforementioned B-52s. "The Idiot Seat" is a messy 60s garage
song with the male and female singers competing to see who can
sing/speak in the most annoying voice, complete with grating call-outs.
Actually, it doesn't really matter if the B-52s are still in vogue;
the B-52s would be embarrassed to know they inspired such a song.
The album also starts off annoyingly with the title track as the
bass player plays the theme to the Batman TV series for the entire song.
In a span of 2 songs, the Little Champions can go from being appealing
enough that the band can be recommended to annoying enough that it's
better to recommend a full frontal lobotomy.
Tinnnnn Roof!
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