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As a follow up to this summer's Clear Eyes EP, Chicago's State Champs recently put out the Full Hearts EP. Full Hearts is the second chapter of a planned trilogy of EPs, and while there's a reference or two that places it in the context of a larger project - the intro, for instance, features fellow Windy City native Justwise of The Highest Low rapping over the beat from the Clear Eyes' outro - the EP works just as well as a standalone offering.
While it was once easy to label the State Champs as a sort of spiritual successor to the Native Tongues, Full Hearts - and, presumably, the trilogy as a whole once it is complete - finds the group solidifying their own brand of music. From the beats, produced by Nick Arcade, to the lyrics of Nick and Johnny Redd, the EP offers up a sound that is entirely unique to the Champs. It's an important step in every group's maturation process, this development of identity, and while boom bap dinosaurs such as myself will miss the direct nods to Tribe found in previous songs like Bo Jackson, there are enough lyrical name drops of Shawn Kemp and other 90's icons to keep older listeners from being completely alienated.
Here are my two favorite cuts from Full Hearts:
State Champs - Panties Redux (right-click to d/l)
State Champs - Day Job (right-click to d/l)
You can stream and download the full Full Hearts EP over on the State Champs' bandcamp page.
Previous coverage of the Clear Eyes EP over here.
State Champs on Facebook.
11/07/2011 6:30:00 PM posted by Fresh