The
Fucking Champs
VI (Drag City)
It is oft opined that to the victor go the spoils;
truly then, the world belongs to the Champs. The Fucking Champs,
that is. In the four years since the release of V, they have
roamed their domain endlessly, holding concerts when and where
they desired. As The Fucking Am, they created GOLD in collaboration
with Trans Am. And they watched with bemusement and vindication
as entire nations of young people strained themselves in awareness
and emulation of their deeds. The legend grew and grows still.
Why, in the last three days, they’ve received emails
from Morroco, Venezuela and Serbia.
And the world deserves to love The Fucking Champs! Their only
battle is with music — and may the war never end. They
respect the bold adventurers who join them in this battle.
But when they commence to play their own music, there’s
nothing that comes close to them.
With VI, a multi-colored hue returns to the field —
a palette that recalls the bygone days of III, but without
ever looking back — for that way death lies. The Fucking
Champs live life in the future — or at the very
least, in the present. Joining Tim Green and Tim Soete is
Phil Manley, whose contributions to GOLD helped set it apart
from everything that came before it. Truly, these Fucking
Champs are a new breed.
And with this evolution, finally a “Champs Fanfare”
for the faithful to tout! Humble warriors that they are, they’ve
made sure it’s the briefest passage on all of VI.
As ever, the neck-choking guitar acrobatics that are The Fucking
Champs’ signature are in place. The pummeling of tom-toms
reaches dizzying, spiritual heights. Their almost clairvoyant
guitar interplay and ferocious drum attack is captured in
transparent sterling detail. Their grand and benevolent (yet
playful) sense of humor (that has no relationship to irony
whatsoever) arcs above the melee, creating songs titles such
as “A Forgotten Chapter in the History of Ideas,”
and “That Crystal Behind You? (Are You Channeling).”
Yes, humor has its uses. For instance, “Fozzy Goes to
Africa” features a cameo from “America’s
Funnyman,” Neil Hamburger that is completely and utterly
musical. And what else would
you expect from the inventors and sole progenitors of the
genre known as “Total Music.” And who else would
you expect to include a hit from two hundred years ago on
their album, finding nothing but pure rock in the ancient
melody?
Nobody but The Fucking Champs.
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