DJ Champion

Montreal's DJ Champion rolls back onto the scene with his third release, Resistance, once again made accessible via live guitars and vocals. The follow-up to Champion's critically acclaimed Chill 'Em All and subsequent remix album, Resistance houses the familiar radio-friendly, guitar-riddled tracks akin to "No Heaven" and "The Plow," namely the title track and "Backing Off," the latter filled with explosive, wailing strings, minimal electronics and boisterous, layered vocals. Resistance also steers off course and delves into progressive tracks like "Plastiques Et Métaux," which builds on infectious layers and plays with dark synths, crunchy guitars and gutted bass. A seriously distorted guitar riff worked into a grimy, pulsating electro loop follows nicely, mixing the hodgepodge collection of tracks into a "various assortment" motif, rather than attempting to group them by style. Based on the similar theme and album structure as Chill 'Em All, Champion seems to be employing the mantra, "if it works, run with it." It does, and he has.