Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care. Gene Champagne

Gene Champagne has found himself on this blog a few times. After his EP 'Let's Jet' followed some singles that are now on Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care. The Canadian rocker fits nicely in a row starting with U.S. garage rock in the 60s, into punkpop and powerpop bands in the later 70s, right up to modern day revivalists like Geoff Palmer, Brad Marino, etc. In short Gene Champagne presents short, fast, loud songs that have a pop feel that is just so sweet.

Of course, Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care is totally anachronistic. It has nothing to do with the mostly totally heartless songs released today with the aim to chart. Exceptions apart, I just do not discover a life form in them. Put on Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care and life, fun and the will to play simply jump into my ears. Each song starts to rock and roll and continues until the very last note fades out.

It will have been on here before, but Gene Champagne was the drummer in a band called Teenage Head. Usually, drummers sit in the back and play a part fitting the composition presented to them. On Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care Gene Champagne wrote and played everything you hear. Not only is he capable of writing perfect pop-rock-punk songs that in a different universe should all be big top 10 if not number 1 hits, he's a good player and singer as well. Each song is so free flowing. Everything fits perfectly in its place. If it is not perfection, this album comes very close.

Promo photo

Added are two covers, the already reviewed 'Yummy Yummy Yummy' by the Ohio Express and 'I Can't Pretend' by The Barracudas. The first one is a song that I would totally not have minded to have all but forgotten, the other is as new to me, just like the rest is.

With Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care Gene Champagne has made the world just this little bit nicer. At a time where so many dogs are wagged simultaneously by the same person that it's impossible to keep up, where with just a little more flooding the whole zone will be gone, an album like Too Pop For Punk…Too Punk To Care is not just an antidote, it's a reminder that there is a far better world within reach.

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