“It’s good to be back,” repeats singer Dave Monks in “Breakneck Speed,” the third track on Tokyo Police Club’s long-awaited sophomore LP, Champ. In the two years that die-hard fans of Tokyo Police Club have waited since the band’s debut stunner Elephant Shell, Monk’s excited refrain rings true.

Champ solidifies TPC’s reputation for making tightly constructed, keyboard-heavy anthems of youth. The band has proven itself able to retain the carefree attitude that made Elephant Shell so hard to stop playing. But from the band’s incorporation of stylized guitar playing that veers out of its primary pop genre and Monks’ conspicuously matured voice, it is obvious that TPC has evolved.

Champ’s standout, “Bambi,” has an upbeat instrumental refrain and features heavily reverbed overdubbing on Monks’ vocals, an effect not used in prior recordings. Here, listeners can see that Monk hasn’t just gotten older; he has also improved his vocal range. But specifics aside, “Bambi” is fun to listen or dance to, and is immediately memorable.

“End of a Spark” has the same sense of nostalgia that defined Elephant Shell’s lyrics. TPC’s ability to create a salient narrative within catchy pop lyrics makes its music accessible on a more personal level. With lines such as “Wasting is an art, like the nights we spent in backs of cars,” it’s hard not to feel 16 again … and like it.

Midway through, the album slows down with the track “Hands Reversed.” But drummer Greg Alsop maintains the pulse of the song, and the slower tempo continues into next track, “Gone,” which features a Libertines-style guitar riff that adds a new dimension to TPC’s repertoire of music. The pace quickens in “Big Difference,” a fast-paced song rife with handclaps, yelling, power-pop guitar and Monks’ quintessential vocal drawl.

Unfortunately, Champs has a few more low points than Elephant Shell, particularly in the album’s closing tracks. “Not Sick” has little to offer in originality, and similarly, “Frankenstein” is far from spectacular. From its repetition of Monks’ idea about it being “good to be back” from “breakneck speed,” it seems as if “Frankenstein” may be the band’s attempt at turning Champs into a concept album. “Frankenstein” doesn’t have the energy of the earlier tracks, and its lyrics have the same overworked feeling that makes “Not Sick” a less-than-stellar contribution to TPC’s catalogue.

Champs is no Elephant Shell, but it’s still a fun album with plenty to offer. Let’s just hope that if we have to wait another two years for a TPC album, it’s good from start to finish.