Today, Albany-raised pop-punk band State Champs released their highly anticipated fifth studio record and self-titled album via Pure Noise Records. The record is available to order on vinyl and stream now.
To commemorate the release day, the band also shared a music video for their punchy track “Save Face Story,” which had been teased on social media over the past few weeks. There were three other singles put out leading up to today, including “Light Blue,” Too Late To Say,” and “Silver Cloud,” all of which had accompanying music videos.
The band shared their thoughts on “Save Face Story”: “’Save Face Story’ is one of our personal favorites from the record. It spotlights an unlikely friendship between State Champs and German-based Hardcore Funk band Slope, providing one of the most exciting and effortlessly cool collaborations Champs has ever done. On paper, the combination might not make total sense, but the result speaks for itself. It’s perhaps an unexpected curve ball added to the rotation of our very familiar brand of windows-down pop punk.”
Nearly 15 years after the band’s formation, lead singer Derek DiScanio, bassist Ryan Scott Graham, guitarist Tyler Szalkowski, and drummer Evan Ambrosio found themselves at different points in their personal lives—marriage, kids, and relocations across the country created new relationship dynamics. Produced by Anton DeLost (Mayday Parade, Hawthorne Heights), State Champs will showcase some of their best edgy, high-energy tracks that have defined their career thus far, making it the exact right time to debut their self-titled album.
“From the outside looking in it seems that State Champs are a band finally taking control of the wheel, possibly because for the first time, they know what direction they should be heading,” shared Kerrang! in their recent cover story on the band.
“We found our way, through the ups and downs within us, personally and as a band, and wanted to express that in this new record,” explains frontman Derek DiScanio. “This is the right time to showcase it.” Bassist Ryan Scott Graham agrees. “When we stepped back and looked at the songs, sonically and thematically, it’s a great vision of who we are. Every era of State Champs exists within this record.”
Comprised of 12 tracks, the songs on this record explode with passionate and smartly constructed precision. While big, bold, and slick, the production nevertheless sounds like a band in a room together or decimating the stage. It’s a perfect example of how the band has become a major player in the pop-punk scene, championing the genre over the past decade.
Over the course of their career, State Champs has received accolades from the likes of Rolling Stone, MTV, Kerrang!, Upset, Alternative Press, and Rock Sound, among others. Their sophomore album, Around the World and Back, entered the Billboard Current Rock Albums chart at No. 3 and made Rock Sound’s Top 10 Albums of the Year. Living Proof followed in 2018, and that same year Billboard called them “modern-day pop-punk torchbearers.” The band has also collaborated with some of pop-punk’s heaviest hitters, co-writing songs with Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low and Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 on their fourth studio album Kings of the New Age.
Rolling Stone spoke with the band exclusively on their record this summer and shared they are “channeling their definitive mix of punchy punk rhythms and irresistible pop hooks in the new tracks.” On State Champs, they cement themselves as an outfit that can and will stand the test of time.
Catch the band live at the following shows:
