Picture Disc celebrating Mom + Pop's 10 Yr Anniversary. On their follow-up, Champ, TPC pull back on some of the beyond-their-years seriousness. Monks is still waxing about lost time and half-sour childhood memories, but he's also referencing 90s R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and confessing his admittedly unwise dreams of wedding a dancer or "a vegetarian who can't stand to be wrong." The album title sounds like a casual term of endearment or a floppy dog. The polished tunes give off major-chord gleam. And the album opens with two pre-school-ready superlatives: "Favourite Food" and "Favourite Colour". These guys know how to make wasted youth blister, and Champ is brimming with radio-ready, "woo hoo" hooks for a right-of-the-dial station that no longer exists.
The new album is hardly a huge leap from Elephant Shell in most senses, but it does find TPC reaching out, growing more comfortable, and letting loose. The songs are a tad longer, and they earn the time. The tempos are upticked slightly, the background vocals more freewheeling. And at the center is guitarist Josh Hook's wafting high notes and Monks, who can't figure out girls or teen dreams despite his good intentions.
| A1 | Favourite Food | 3:56 |
| A2 | Favourite Colour | 2:38 |
| A3 | Breakneck Speed | 3:44 |
| A4 | Boots Of Danger (Wait Up) | 3:09 |
| A5 | Bambi | 2:46 |
| A6 | End Of A Spark | 3:37 |
| B1 | Hands Reversed | 3:20 |
| B2 | Gone | 3:05 |
| B3 | Big Difference | 2:58 |
| B4 | Not Sick | 2:58 |
| B5 | Frankenstein | 3:29 |
