After a hotly buzzed EP in 2006 s A Lesson in Crime and a momentum-carrying debut album in 2008 s
Elephant Shell, the Ontario band were poised to conquer the mainstream. They had producer Rob Schnapf on board, whose credits included Beck and Foo Fighters, and they had a high-powered American label in Mom + Pop Music. And, most importantly, they had a streamlined sound that highlighted sparking pop-rock hooks over the fidgety post-punk adrenaline of old.
And so they called it
Champ and put confetti on the album cover, as if to throw themselves a victory party for success they hadn t actually achieved yet.