It Is Nothing to You

Vancouver, British Columbia's All State Champion sounds like a hybrid of Superchunk, Seaweed, and Fugazi on their 2003 full-length debut It Is Nothing to You. Needless to say, they're friggin' great. "Asleep at the Wheel," for instance, finds this four-piece reliving the roar of indie rock's 1986 to 1994 golden years with an imaginative but coarse twin axe attack, and things maintain a superb consistency throughout, thanks to singer/guitarist Daniel Sioui's vocal reaches, and the band's knack for hooks. The manic fervor that drives tracks like "Second Chance" and the twisting, turning late-album standout "Work Is Killing Me" warrant repeated spins, even if "Straight" wraps the disc with a tepid whimper. But for the most part, All State Champion runs on all cylinders, roaring like an old GTO. Just as the chorus to the glimmering rocker "Your Time Is Gold" attests, time spent with this disc is almost always rewarding.