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Champion (The Audition album)

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Champion
A man facing right, flanked by portions of a coliseum and orange circles against a brown background.
Studio album by
the Audition
ReleasedJanuary 22, 2008
GenrePop-punk
Length33:50
LabelVictory
ProducerJohn Naclerio
The Audition chronology
Controversy Loves Company
(2005) 		Champion
(2008) 		Self-titled Album
(2009)

Champion is the second studio album by American rock band the Audition. It was released in the USA and the UK on January 22, 2008 by Victory Records. It has roughly sold 75,000 copies since its release in 2008.

Background

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The Audition released their debut studio album Controversy Loves Company in September 2005 through Victory Records.[1] Initial promotion saw the band tour the United States with labelmates Spitalfield until the end of the year, followed by US tour with June in January 2006.[2][3][4] By June 2006, O'Connor said they had upwards of ten potential ideas for new songs.[5]

Composition

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Musically, the sound of Champion has been described as pop-punk and new wave, drawing comparison to the work of the Rx Bandits.[6][7] Melodic writer Kaj Roth said: "The 2008 version of The Audition can be described as having Panic! at the Disco playing The Clash songs".[7] The album opens with "Basbhat", a dance-influenced track.[8] "Warm Me Up" is an up-tempo song that has verses in the style of the Cure; the pre-chorus sections recalled "Cry Me a River" (2002) by Justin Timberlake.[8][9] "Edinboro" comes across as a more guitar-orientated iteration of Duran Duran and Simple Minds.[9] "Hell to Sell" evokes the It Won't Be Soon Before Long-era (2007) Maroon 5.[8] The ballad song "What Gets You Through the Night" that was compared to the sound of U2, and is bookended by two rock tracks, "Ether" and "Shady Business".[8][9] [6] "Make It Rain" is a dance-rock and power pop song that is followed by the album's closing song, "Have Gun, Will Travel", which was reminiscent of the work of the band's labelmates the Forecast.[8][10]

Release

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Champion was announced on December 19, 2007,[11] and released on January 22, 2008.[12] "Warm Me Up" was released as the album's lead single around this time.[13] In January and February, the band headlined the PacTour, with support from Envy on the Coast, Danger Radio and Another Day Late.[14] A music video was released for "Warm Me Up" on February 6, 2008; it was filmed in Cleveland, Ohio in November 2007.[15] Later in February 2008, an alternative version of the video was released, mixing in footage of the game Obscure: The Aftermath (2007), directed by Don Tyler.[16] Following this, the band went on tour of the UK alongside You Me at Six.[17]

Following appearances at the South by Southwest and South by So What?! festivals, the Audition headlined the Spring Break 08 tour in the US from mid-March until early May, with support from Hit the Lights, Every Avenue, the Morning Light and Kiros.[18] In the midst of this, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival, and later performed at the Give it a Name festival in the UK.[19][20] After this, the band participated in Warped Tour from late June until mid-August.[18]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk73%[8]
AllMusic[9]
Alternative Press
Melodic[7]
Ox-Fanzine9/10[6]

Champion was met with mixed reviews from music critics. AbsolutePunk staff writer Drew Beringer felt that despite the album being "rather short", it "hits you hard and hits you fast". He noted that most of the songs "don’t follow the same path set forward on Controversy, rather going in direction that can span more genres".[8] Ox-Fanzine reviewer Arne Koepke found that the band wrote "catchy verses and pleasing refrains en masse ready for us".[6] Roth wrote that it "pleases me to say that there's less pop/punk on the new album and more of that dance-able new wave" as the tracks "will get you in a good friday night mood".[7]

Exclaim! writer Sari Delmar said that while the band "refined their sugar-coated vocals and stepped it up to a whole new level of poppy-ness, they seem to have toned down the originality".[21] The staff at Curve countered this, saying it "wasn’t a total write off though and a few songs on this album did show evidence of their earlier panache".[22] Punktastic founder Paul Savage wrote that it was not a "bad record per se, it’s slower in pace and certainly less moody than its predecessor [...] You can’t mock or upset a band for wanting to go down that route, but I just feel The Audition were better with that 'oomph'".[23] AllMusic reviewer Jason MacNeil wrote that after the first two tracks, the album "begins to slide down a slippery slope" in terms of quality. He summarised it as a "rather uneven affair" as the band "pass the audition, but not with flying colors".[9]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Basbhat"2:42
2."Warm Me Up"3:32
3."Heaven for the Weather"3:09
4."Edinboro"3:11
5."Hell to Sell"3:48
6."Ether"3:50
7."What Gets You Through the Night"4:24
8."Shady Business"3:21
9."Make It Rain"3:10
10."Have Gun, Will Travel"3:05
Total length:33:50

Personnel

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The Audition

  • Danny Stevens - Lead Vocals, Piano on "What Gets You Through The Night"
  • Seth Johnson - Lead Guitar (Guitar Solo on "Warm Me Up" and "Have Gun, Will Travel"), Acoustic Guitar,[24] Backing Vocals
  • Tim Klepek - Rhythm Guitar
  • Joe Lussa - Bass Guitar
  • Ryan O'Connor - Drums, Percussion

Production and design

  • John Naclerio - Mastering, Mixing, Producer[24]
  • Paul Carabello - Engineer[24]
  • Nigel Evan Dennis - Art Direction, Illustrations, Layout Design[24]
  • Ryan Bakerink - Photography[24]

References

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Citations

  1. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Controversy Loves Company - The Audition". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Audition". The Audition. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  3. ^ White, Adam (October 5, 2005). "Somerset to tour with Spitalfield, the City On Film, Down To Earth Approach, theAudition". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Paul, Aubin (December 30, 2005). "June touring with The Audition, Hawthorne Heights in January, February 2006". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Pascarella, Tony (June 3, 2006). "Audition, The (Ryan O'Connor) - 06.03.06". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Koepke, Arne (February–March 2008). "Audition Champion". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Roth, Kaj (January 13, 2008). "The Audition - Champion". Melodic. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Beringer, Drew (January 18, 2008). "Audition, The - Champion". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e MacNeil, Jason. "Champion - The Audition". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  10. ^ MacNeil, Jason (March 20, 2008). "The Audition: Champion". Ox-Fanzine. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Roth, Kaj (December 19, 2007). "The Audition - Champions Of 2008?". Melodic. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  12. ^ "theAUDITION to headline PacSun tour". Alternative Press. December 4, 2007. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  13. ^ "The AUDITION Reveal First Single From New Album - News". Rock Sound. December 7, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  14. ^ Kilgore, Kym (December 19, 2007). "The Audition leads PacTour lineup". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  15. ^ "The Audition release "Warm Me Up" video online". Alternative Press. February 6, 2008. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Audition Get Obscure". IGN. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  17. ^ Daniels 2015, p. 16
  18. ^ a b Kilgore, Kym (March 12, 2008). "The Audition hits the road hard". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  19. ^ "Bamboozle Left reveals more bands". Alternative Press. March 13, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  20. ^ "The Audition And More Added To GIAN 2008 - News". Rock Sound. January 31, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  21. ^ Delmar, Sari (February 21, 2008). "The Audition Champion". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  22. ^ "Music Review: The Audition". Curve. May 21, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  23. ^ Savage, Paul (January 24, 2008). "The Audition – Champion". Punktastic. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d e "Champion - the Audition | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.

Sources

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