TRANSCHAMPS - DOUBLE EXPOSURE EP (2001)

TransChamps is basically the fusion of two very different musical acts, The Fucking Champs from San Francisco and Trans Am from Bathesda, Maryland (hence the name, duh). In case you aren't already familiar with the work of these two groups, I would sum it up thusly:
The Champs play super-epic instrumental metal, with focus on almost Queen-esque dual guitar riffage and a keen ear for harmonic interaction and soaring leads. Trans Am are purveyors of some really cool, soundtracky electro-rock, paying homage in equal parts to bands like Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk while still retaining the ability to invoke vigorous fist-pumping and ass-shaking. Double Exposure was their first collaboration together, facilitated by drummer Phil Manley's membership in both groups.
The first track is a distinctly Champs-y affair, with a poppy, distorted guitar line and a bedroom-recording-y vocal track. The second track is a much more Trans Am-y jam, but things get a bit more interesting around song #3, "First Comes Sunday Morning". This little acoustic ditty blossoms into the 70's keyboard/guitar rock jam "Then Comes Saturday Night", which finds these two fused entities assuming the stance of full-on AM radio arena rockers. If you dig feel-good summertime rock music like that Painter album Del Tigre posted last month, these songs are for you. After this brief journey into guitar-rock bombast, Double Exposure meanders back into some more well-worn electro-rock territory on "Somebody Like You", this EP's last track.
To make things even more confusing, The Fucking Champs and Trans Am formed yet another side project together after TransChamps, aptly named The Fucking Am. So there's that, too.

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The Fucking Champs on Myspace
Trans Am on Myspace
The Fucking Am on Myspace

Trans Am: "North East Rising Sun"



The Fucking Champs: "Extra Man" (live at 12 Galaxies, San Francisco 2006 - the title is an allusion to the fact that their drummer stands up and plays guitar on this song)