Champion "Time Slips Away" CD
[Bridge Nine]
It may look like a new full-length, but no, the band doesn't work quite that fast. Instead, this is a collection of this Seattle straightedge group's first two EP's, "Come Out Swinging" and "Count Our Numbers", in reverse chronological order with an all new layout. When I initially heard "Count Our Numbers", I felt the band's take on fairly traditional hardcore was somewhat typical. And that's true, but at the same time, maybe it was also the fact that at that point there was a pretty hefty resurgence of that sound going on, whereas now I'm not hearing as much of it. So what that means is that this time around, for whatever reason, I'm still not blown away, but I do find a little more value in the band's subtly melodic and obviously sincere take on straightforward, to the point hardcore. The song structures are definitely following the classic formula, and there's nothing terribly creative about it, but I like the character of the shouting vocals, and that combined with the little touches of melody make just enough of a difference to give these songs some added weight. "Monument" especially has a killer bass intro that comes off as much more menacing than any of the other material, definitely leading into one of the more forceful tracks from a rhythmic standpoint. Their debut EP is a little more straightforward, but there's still something about the songs that does come off as convincingly sincere, with tracks like "Assume the Worst" actually feeling pretty moving as a whole - I'm definitely loving how those chunky picking patterns at the end effectively contrast the midpaced melodic chords. The clean intro to "Left Your Mark" (by far the longest track at 4:15) is pretty unexpected, though I wouldn't call it out of place, and this is a pretty strong song despite being a touch too long. A couple of covers are included as well, one from each EP, including the ever popular "Is Anybody There?" from Alone in a Crowd, as well as a surprisingly hard to recognize "One to Two" by Dag Nasty - which they actually make a little faster and more aggressive than the original, as opposed to focusing on its melodic sensibilities. The recordings need work, so maybe that also played a role in my initial reaction to some of the band's material, but I don't know. "Count Our Numbers" could definitely use a little more thickness, both to the guitar tone and the overall mix, since the bass isn't as central as a lot of old school bands tended to make it, and the drums are a little thin. But none of that's a big deal. The first 7" definitely suffers from a weird tinge to the guitar distortion (which oddly sounds like it's only present in one of the guitars) and a lack of low-end prominence to the rhythm section, though it's still listenable. The layout looks great and maintains the same general aesthetic of the band's other releases, using a monochromatic color scheme, lots of quality live photos, and a good amount of metallic blue ink to make it look a little more artistic. The text is all clean and concise, and the lyrics cover your usual topics of personal turmoil, the scene, and a few straightedge tracks as well. Most of the content is a little more involved than usual, however, so they're not taking a super blunt and in your face road with the lyrics. The band's finest material is certainly what came after these EP's (and probably what's still to come), so I wouldn't call this reissue essential, but diehards who missed one or the other the first time around will probably appreciate the ease of having the two on one disc. There are some great songs here, granted some suffer slightly from the production issues, but whatever the case - their sincerity is apparent, and that counts for something. (6/10)
Running time - 30:00 (approximately), Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Time Slips Away, Monument, Assume the Worst, Left Your Mark]
Bridge Nine Records - http://www.bridge9.com

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