STATE CHAMPION "Fantasy Error"

by State Champion

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD or more

1.	SUNBATHING I 05:58	buy track
2.	DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT MY LOVE 05:35	buy track
3.	WAKE ME UP 03:43	buy track
4.	THERE IS A HIGHLIGHT REEL 06:34	buy track
5.	NO PLEASURE 07:03	buy track
6.	FANTASY ERROR 04:52	buy track
7.	BRAIN DAYS 05:55	buy track
8.	SUNBATHING II 04:04	buy track

about

"Spend some time in Louisville, Kentucky and you will find it is one of the most unassumingly strange places in America. The ratio of grown folks to millennials in attendance at any rock gig seems roughly 3:1. Such events take place in places like caves and chicken coops, among other nontraditional venues. Hip, transgressive people don't seem to outgrow hip, transgressive things here; no one seems very eager to settle for a life less weird. Catherine Irwin of the great Louisville/Chicago band Freakwater--who lends her inimitable vocal talents to several tunes on Fantasy Error, the latest album by State Champion--once joked that the evergreen nature (no pun intended) of the Louisville scene was due to the dearth of area vocational schools. If an album has been made in this young century that better captures the essence of this burg than Fantasy Error, I haven't heard it.

State Champion's punked-up country gunk frequently recalls both the Aristotelian pathos of bands like Souled American and Palace Brothers and the character-driven black humor of indie ironists like Camper Van Beethoven and the Supreme Dicks. Mere homage, however, is not State Champion's line. Singer and head honcho Ryan Davis is a sharp, astute lyricist, the kind of songwriter who probably gets tired of people asking him why he doesn't try his hand at short story writing. Indeed, Fantasy Error's depictions of postmasters and county coroners, Dickensian drinkers and "teardrop pushers" are as vivid as they are familiar, sung with the conviction of a Drag City-damaged Chris Knight. The musicians provide the perfect foil, loose without trying too terribly hard to appear "ramshackle." Frayed horsehair bows are dragged across fiddle wire and banjos frail for dear life; fuzzy, unfussy electric guitars bend, scrimmage, and howl while subtle synthesizers interject ominously through the din; even the percussion sounds bleary-eyed and broken-up with.

Fantasy Error is a great rock and roll record, equal parts Springsteen and noise scene, as American as broken traffic lights and bad trips.

The banner yet waves!"

- James Jackson Toth (January 2015)

credits

released June 23, 2015

STATE CHAMPION: Salvatore Cassato, Ryan Davis, Mikie Poland, Sabrina Rush
AND THE FANTASY HEIRS: Axel Cooper, Catherine Irwin, Jim Marlowe, Dan McGee,
Doug Ryan, Michael Andrew Turner, Jonathan Glen Wood
(w/ spiritual support provided by:) Jilbert, Shutaro Noguchi, Aaron Rosenblum

Recorded in June of 2014 at Rove (RIP) in Shelbyville, KY.
Produced by Jim Marlowe. Engineered by Doug Ryan.
Mixed at Dracula's Casino by Jim Marlowe and State Champion.
Mastered by Carl Saff in Chicago, IL.

license

about

Sophomore Lounge Louisville, Kentucky

contact / help

Contact Sophomore Lounge

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

If you like STATE CHAMPION "Fantasy Error", you may also like:

Cosmic Cash
by Garcia Peoples

supported by 5 fans who also own “STATE CHAMPION "Fantasy Error"”

Wonderful psych-pop with a duel guitar lead that beckons those lovely tones and interplay from the 70's. Grab this one. AbNormal Listening Habits
go to album
Dripping
by Pile

supported by 5 fans who also own “STATE CHAMPION "Fantasy Error"”

One of the best there ever was Will Fritch
go to album
Now Only
by Mount Eerie

supported by 5 fans who also own “STATE CHAMPION "Fantasy Error"”

I can feel your pain, your loss, real emotion in your music. Your releases before this tragedy don't have this kind of genuine soul to them... Most music rarely does. This is unique. This is an oddity. This is special. I'm listening to an actual piece of your soul. This empathy I feel, for a loss that isn't my own: feels so fucking genuine. Since hearing this, I've began putting all of my energy into my own relationship. Appreciation for someone is strongest when they're gone. Thank you for letting me feel your emotions, akin to a personal loss I never had. I've began cherishing what I have now, forging the life we always talked about but kept putting off. Thank you for this. Valquerie Morningstar
go to album
Ilana: The Creator
by Mdou Moctar

On his first studio LP, the Nigerien guitarist aligns himself with late overseas icons like Prince, Hendrix, and Dick Dale. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 4, 2019
go to album
SVVAMP
by SVVAMP

Gritty, psychedelic rock, full of crashing guitar riffs and lo-fi percussion. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 9, 2016
go to album
Auto-Portrait
by Spirits Having Fun

Cool and melodic math rock from Chicago built around a twin guitar attack and floaty vocals. Bandcamp New & Notable May 23, 2019
go to album
The Best of Luck Club
by Alex Lahey

The Australian multi-instrumentalist tames her demons with buoyant melodies and thundering power chords. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 22, 2019
go to album