REVIEW: Little Champion – ‘Peaks Island and Other Places’

Dustin Goldklang aka Little Champion has always had a knack for writing the kind of songs that feel like scribbled thoughts on the back of a napkin, only to reveal themselves as miniature epiphanies. On his latest LP ‘Peaks Island and Other Places’, the Asheville-based artist returns with a record that balances emotional weight and wide-eyed wonder with the deftness of someone who’s lived in both silence and song.

Built from scratch in a garage-turned-studio, the album radiates intimacy. Goldklang is unafraid to linger in questions, letting curiosity drive the songwriting without ever needing to land on tidy resolutions. There’s a rawness to the lyrics that recalls early Mount Eerie, but with a wink and nod that brings to mind Jonathan Richman on a rainy day.

Tracks bounce between airy folk, crunchy lo-fi pop, and the scrappy optimism of basement punk, all threaded together by an earnest voice that never takes itself too seriously, even when it’s singing about grief or being lost in thought. There’s something deeply human about this collection: it lets you cry and laugh in the same breath, sometimes even in the same verse.

Goldklang’s DIY spirit is foundational to his sound. These songs don’t pretend to be perfect, and that’s what makes them hit so hard. Every creaky floorboard in the mix, every warbled synth line, every overly honest lyric, feels like a reminder that art is a process of making sense of the mess.

‘Peaks Island and Other Places’ is deeply personal, surprisingly playful, and full of the kind of gentle longing that sneaks up on you. For anyone who’s ever tried to laugh through the ache or capture a fleeting thought in a melody, Little Champion’s latest is the perfect companion.