On their first single off Champ, Canadian alternative rockers Tokyo Police Club state, “It’s good to be back.”

While, that’s all fine and dandy for the band, the real question remained: will audiences and fans be glad to have them back? Only the rest of Champ would tell…

Tokyo Police Club impressed with their EPs, but it seems their full-length, Elephant Shell, brought out some mixed feelings, although at 30 minutes, my only complaint was that it was more like a third EP than a full LP. So what would happen with Champ?

With Champ, the band seems to have mellowed a bit from the previous works. It’s almost ironic, that on a song titled, “Breackneck Speed,” the band is playing at one of their slowest tempos to date. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great and catchy song, but for those who got hooked on the crazy syncopation of “Tessellate,” you might be shocked at some of the more straight up beats.

The album begins with a sustained organ tone overlaid with the static fuzz you get as if honing on a radio frequency. “Favourite Food,” is a gritty anti-love song, “a heart attack on a plate” and “knees are scratched and eyes are black,” are a few of the pleasant images TPC conjures up. Mmm. Black eyes and cardiac arrest. Tasty. The punching choruses of  “Favourite Colour follows, before single, “Breakneck Speed.”

For those fans craving the older sounds of TPC with the unbridled vocals that made “Your English Is Good” so great, “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)” is the track for you. The band alternates between walls of sound on the verses before hitting a cleaner, and ridiculously catchy, chorus. If “Wait Up” takes you back to the familiar sound of TPC, brace for shock with “Bambi.” It barely sounds like them and if anything, almost has a Julian Casablancas thing going on.

“End of a Spark” and the old timey love song “Hands Reversed” embrace the slower tempo thing that TPC all of a sudden seems to love. “Gone” is more upbeat and danceable. “Big Off” reminds of the band’s older style, but more in tune, and its big drums give a good fanfare to what is my favorite song on the album: “Not Sick.” “Not Sick” at first seemed a little ridiculous to me, but I soon found I couldn’t get that chorus…”Carolina! Happy belated..” out of my head. Plus what isn’t to love with that irregular synth pattern?

As a whole, the album is a strange sort of coming of age story for the band as they try to come to terms with what their sound is and where they fit into the musical world. This is a more refined Tokyo Police Club, but is this a good or a bad monster they have created with Champ? “Tell me it’s good to be back,” the band says, in the closing number “Frankenstein.” Well, TPC, there’s still some hiccups here and there, but yeah, it is really good to have you back.

Champ was released on June 8. Tokyo Police Club is currently on tour and full dates can be seen at tokyopoliceclub.com.

. “Wait Up” Remix by DOM

Track Listing:
1. Favourite Food
2. Favourite Colour
3. Breakneck Speed
4. Wait Up (Boots of Danger)
5. Bambi
6. End of a Spark
7. Hands Reversed
8. Gone
9. Big Difference
10. Not Sick
11. Frankenstein

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