Champ is the second studio album by Tokyo Police Club that was released on June 8, 2010. Champ is the band's second studio album, after the release of Elephant Shell in 2008. Tokyo Police Club released the album's first single, "Breakneck Speed" for free download on their website on March 26, 2010.[1] The next singles released off the album were "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)"[2] followed by "Gone".[3]

Champ
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 8, 2010 (2010-06-08)
StudioSunset Sound Yogurt Factory & Kingsize Soundlabs (Los Angeles)
GenreIndie rock, alternative rock, heartland rock
Length35:35
LabelMom + Pop Music
ProducerRob Schnapf
Tokyo Police Club chronology
Elephant Shell
(2008)
Champ
(2010)
Ten Songs, Ten Years, Ten Days
(2011)
Singles from Champ
  1. "Breakneck Speed"
    Released: March 2010
  2. "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)"
    Released: May 2010
  3. "Bambi"
    Released: 2010

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(71/100)[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]
Alternative Press(80/100) [4]
BLARE Magazine     [6]
onethirtybpm(75%)[7]
Pitchfork Media(7.6/10)[8]
Slant Magazine     [9]
TORO     [10]
TorontoMusicScene     [11]
SPIN Magazine     [12]
Robert ChristgauA−[13]

As with their debut EP, A Lesson In Crime, Champ was met with a mixed to positive press response, being lauded for their upbeat consistency from one album to the next. Slant Magazine gave it 3/5 stars, calling the band "smart guys with ambitions to be more than another forgotten blog band".[14] Similarly Rolling Stone gave them 3.5/5 stars, praising the way they fused "light-speed guitars with ebullient melodies", saying, "Rarely has crafting such high-velocity guitar pop seemed so easy."[15]

Track listing

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All songs by Monks, Wright, Hook, and Alsop.

Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Favourite Food"3:55
2."Favourite Colour"2:38
3."Breakneck Speed"3:44
4."Wait Up (Boots of Danger)"3:08
5."Bambi"2:44
6."End of a Spark"3:37
7."Hands Reversed"3:19
8."Gone"3:04
9."Big Difference"2:57
10."Not Sick"2:56
11."Frankenstein"3:29
Total length:35:38
US iTunes Bonus
No.TitleLength
12."First Date Kit (feat. Born Ruffians)"2:35
Total length:38:13
10th Anniversary edition (Digital)
No.TitleLength
1."Favourite Food"3:55
2."Favourite Colour"2:38
3."Breakneck Speed"3:44
4."Wait Up (Boots of Danger)"3:08
5."Bambi"2:44
6."End of a Spark"3:37
7."Hands Reversed"3:19
8."Gone"3:04
9."Big Difference"2:57
10."Not Sick"2:56
11."Frankenstein"3:29
12."Hundred Dollar Day"3:53
13."Bambi (Acoustic)" 
14."Gone (Matt & Kim Remix)"2:08
15."I'm On Your Side (Demo)" 
16."Breakneck Speed (Demo)" 
17."Polka Breakneck (Interlude)" 
18."Wait Up (Passion Pit Remix)" 
19."Wait Up (Dom Remix)" 
20."Breakneck Speed (Andy Rourke Remix)" 
21."Favourite Color (Bad Biz Remix)" 
22."Once I Was The Keeper" 
23."First Date Kit (Born Ruffians + Tokyo Police Club)"2:35
24."Young Vincent Price" 
Total length:N/A
10th Anniversary edition (Vinyl)
No.TitleLength
1."Favourite Food"3:55
2."Favourite Colour"2:38
3."Breakneck Speed"3:44
4."Wait Up (Boots of Danger)"3:08
5."Bambi"2:44
6."End of a Spark"3:37
7."Hands Reversed"3:19
8."Gone"3:04
9."Big Difference"2:57
10."Not Sick"2:56
11."Frankenstein"3:29
Total length:35:38
10th Anniversary edition (Vinyl – Bonus 7")
No.TitleLength
1."Hundred Dollar Bill"3:53
2."Bambi (Acoustic)" 
Total length:N/A

Personnel

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Tokyo Police Club

  • Dave Monks – songwriting, musician
  • Graham Wright – songwriting, musician
  • Josh Hook – songwriting, musician
  • Greg Alsop – songwriting, musician

Technical

  • Rob Schnapf – producer, mix engineer
  • Doug Boehm – engineer, mix engineer
  • Chris Szczech – assistant mix engineer
  • Clinton Welander – assistant engineer
  • Chris Claypool – assistant engineer
  • Zac Carper – assistant engineer
  • Alan Yoshida – mastering
  • Chris Zane – additional production (track 1)
  • Dean Marino – additional engineering (track 11)
  • Jay Sadlowski – additional engineering (track 11)

Art and management

  • Rich Cohen – management
  • Nous Vous – design and art direction
  • Tom Jackson – photography

References

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  1. ^ "Tokyo Police Club – Breakneck Speed". 27 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  2. ^ "Tokyo Police Club – Wait Up (Boots of Danger)".
  3. ^ "Tokyo Police Club – Gone". 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Champ reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  5. ^ Leahey, Andrew. "Review: Champ". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  6. ^ "BLARE Magazine review".
  7. ^ "One Thirty BPM review".
  8. ^ "Pitchfork Media review". Pitchfork.
  9. ^ "Slant Magazine review". Slant Magazine. 7 June 2010.
  10. ^ "TORO review". Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
  11. ^ "TorontoMusicScene review". Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  12. ^ "SPIN Magazine review".
  13. ^ "Robert Christgau review".
  14. ^ "Slant Magazine - Tokyo Police Club Champ Album Review". Slant Magazine. 7 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Rolling Stone - Tokyo Police Club Champ Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010.
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