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Epitaph Records -- Millencolin

Challenger

Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses
2004
Jade Tree

Challenger - Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses (Cover Artwork)


Review by: Matt Whelihan
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Jade Tree Records (Logo)

Published on February 27th 2004

At first listen Challenger seemed to have a fairly generic high energy rock sound, but after the second or third listen Challenger’s wide range of creativity and song writing skills subtlety came forth to create a unique blend of punk, pop, and noise rock sounds.

Challenger is not the type of band to be pinned down to one sound and this keeps the album sounding fresh and interesting through out. Songs like “Death Museum” delve into keyboard sounds for a lead instrument, while other songs like “Sweet Vaccine” have awkward sounding riffs that exhibit Challenger’s ability to tie noise rock guitar work effortlessly into upbeat songs, and songs like “Crushed City” and “The Trojan Horse” exhibit an uncanny ability to write pop guitar hooks.

The music is not the only element of Challenger that demonstrates their creativity and diversity. The style of vocal delivery is experimental and the lyrical content is intelligent without being overly wordy or confusingly symbolic.

While neither of the two vocalists have amazing voices in a traditional sense they find a wide array of ways to make use of what they do have. Songs like “Input the Output” and “The Angry Engineer” exhibit the raw, screamy side of the vocals, while songs like “Crushed City” and “The Trojan Horse” demonstrate the well crafted pop and backing vocal talents of the band. Challenger also find interesting ways to use their voices such as the high pitched pitter patter sound of the vocals on “Blackouts” and the dialogue style of vocals between male and female voices on, “Brand Loyalty.”

When the vocals cry out, “I’m agoraphobic (don’t worry they give you a definition in the linear notes) to the bone/ anxiety pipe bomb of worthless steel and fading charm,” on the opening track of the album you know you are in store for quality lyrical content instead of pop punk clichés and forced rhymes. The lyrics are introspective and witty without being abstract. Lines such as “We’re so sad and self satisfied when talking amongst ourselves about the way things ought to be/ but the reality is we’ve got to too much time on our hands to handle the amount of time our hands are dangling by our sides,” and “You’re always looking for somebody to hold you/ you’re always looking for somebody to trust you/ you’re always looking for somebody to tell you/ hey, it’s all right if you want to spend the night,” drip with irony while lines such as “Hey man, it’s not about the money/ it’s about getting what you deserve,” exude a sense of raw, smack in the face, truth.

Challenger is a band for anyone who enjoys hearing an album where every song has something new to offer, yet there is an underlying component that solidifies the whole release. In Challenger’s case this cohesive element is their energy. The music is fast paced and heavy and the vocals are never subdued.



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    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2004-04-27 21:39:28
    My Score:

    I like this album, I just bought it.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 5, 2004 at 11:25 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    "These guys sound a lot like Hellbender."

    SWEET!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 2, 2004 at 1:44 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Remis!

    Posted by dont_think_twice on 2004-03-01 12:48:47
    My Score:

    It didn't really seem like he was complaining about bands talking about being agoraphobic, and never insinuated that he didn't know what it meant. What exactly were you out to prove? Knowing the definition and being able to use 'agoraphobic' and/or 'derogative' does not make you a genius, so stop being a pompous, condescending douchebag. Especially when your post is riddled with mistakes, that have already been pointed out. Thanks

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 at 2:40 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    if you're gonna make fun of someone else's condescension, then you should at least spell "intelligence" right and use the contraction “you’re”, meaning “you are”, rather than “your”, implying possession.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 at 1:03 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    is it saxophone? fucking horse tranks.

    wyzo

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 29, 2004 at 1:02 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    agoraphobic is a common word, if you dont know it, your an idiot, i dont mean that in a derogative (another common word, you idiot) way, but just as a clear precise definition of where you fall on a scale. Like, you should play the tuba because you don't have the right lip cleft for saxaphone. You don't attain a certain level of intilligence, your an idiot. Not a judgement, just an FYI.

    al burian does quality stuff. Burn collector is always worth a read.

    wyzo

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 at 3:34 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    seems like more and more songs are showing up with lyrics about being agoraphobic

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 at 11:22 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    this is a great album. way better than milemarker. much more coherent and to the point. great vocals too.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 at 11:21 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    These guys sound a lot like Hellbender.

    duh.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 28, 2004 at 9:08 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    they dont really sound too much like milemarker in my opinion. it seems like a whole different band with a different soun but in the best way possible. i enjoy this album then anything milemarker ever put out with the exception of frigid.

    Posted by Icapped2pac on 2004-02-27 23:26:47
    My Score:

    No, they sound like Jethro Tull with a harp.

    Posted by dazed on 2004-02-27 21:57:10
    My Score:

    So do they sound like Milemarker w/o keyboards or what? I'm curious about this.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 27, 2004 at 9:16 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Good review and good album, right on!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 27, 2004 at 8:25 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    good review.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, February 27, 2004 at 8:21 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I received this 12" from work the other day. I likes it alot.

    Barkley

    Posted by t-rav on 2004-02-27 20:13:19
    My Score:

    this record is great