Loungs - We are the Champ

  by Andrew Carver

published: 18 / 6 / 2007

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Review

Fuzzy, woozy and friendly, ‘We Are The Champs’ good-natured title boast translates into some high-spirited, sometimes oddball music. The Loungs bound all over the pop map, kicking things off with some electronic burbles, squelchy guitar and chorused “yeah yeah yeahs!” and the sort of guitarwork you’d expect if Fast Eddie Clarke had decided to go to work for a videogame company on ‘Clancy’s Stomp.’ If you don’t fancy this sort of silliness, worry not, some new brand of silliness will be on the way shortly as the band has no apparent interest in sustaining a mood for the entire length of a song. ‘Get Along’ shifts from dreamy to demented, kicking off with melancholy, sleepy vocals, leaps into a caffeinated bridge dominated by jumping brass and electronics, then nods off again. Urgent vocals suddenly bounce into dreamy choruses on ‘Electric Lights’ in a manner strikingly reminiscent of Gorky’s Zygotic Mincy. Indeed, the band’s general feel could be best described as ‘Welsh’: It doesn’t take long for the spirit of Super Furry Animals and other playful pop combos to simmer out of the stereo. (Never mind the band hails from a small town between Manchester and Liverpool.) The silly title pun of ‘Armegeddon Out of Here’ translates into hand-clap pop, jangly guitar and some breathy vocal harmonies – the band’s real strong spot. The band does have a few straight-ahead pop tunes in them. ‘Throughout It All’ makes further good use of their harmonic skills while steering clear of the agitated electronics. ‘Googly Moogly’ betrays its oddball title with another sore-throated pop outing. The fey braggadacio of ‘I’m Gonna Take Your Girl’ exploits another form of musical multiple multiplicity – at least before the song charges into its brassy mid-section. The Loungs might be accused of concealing their best features with unnecessary peculiarity

Track Listing:-

1 Clancy's Stomp
2 Electric Lights
3 Armageddon Outta Here
4 Smile Reptile
5 Throughout It All
6 Googly Moogly
7 Get Along
8 I'm Gonna Take Your Girl
9 Leep
10 Dig That Do
11 All Your Love
12 Seen My Baby Dancing
13 In Winter Coats