State Champs Return with Self-Titled LP, Share Two New Songs

Secret’s out: State Champs are back. The Albany pop-punk rockers are gearing up to release their fifth LP, a self-titled project out via Pure Noise Records on November 8. Along with the news, State Champs shared two new songs off the record: nostalgic chug “Silver Cloud,” and meditative number “Too Late to Say.”

The band, made up of lead singer Derek DiScanio, guitarist Tyler Szalkowski, bassist Ryan Scott Graham, and drummer Evan Ambrosio, are channeling their definitive mix of punchy punk rhythms and irresistible pop hooks in the new tracks. Lyrically, State Champs seems to be unpacking the glory of their Warped Tour heyday in the early 2010s, when they were at the front of pop-punk’s fourth wave, and reminiscing on their past as whole.

“We found our way, through the ups and downs within us, personally and as a band, and wanted to express that,” DiScanio says in a statement. “This is the right time to showcase it,” Scott Graham agrees. “When we stepped back and looked at the songs, sonically and thematically, it’s a great vision of who we are. Every era of State Champs exists within this record.”

State Champs also dropped a video for lead single “Silver Cloud.” In the visual, directed by Michael Herrick, DiScanio battles a dead-end job, a mundane existence, and an annoying cast of characters played by his fellow band mates.

The band first revealed they were working on their fifth record in fall 2023, when they posted a video on Instagram. Since then, State Champs has continued to tease the project on their social media accounts. State Champs is their first release in two years, following 2022’s Kings of the New Age.

The album news comes on the heels of a headlining tour announcement. In November, State Champs will kick off their trek through major U.S. cities with openers Knuckle Puck, Meet Me at the Altar, and Daisy Grenade.

State Champs Track List: