OKComputer1016
06/13/09, 05:31 PM
Capsule – Blue
Record Label: Robotic Empire
Release Date: March 17, 2008
If you think that Dillinger Escape Plan and The Number 12 Looks Like You are too slow, predictable, and wussy, you might enjoy Capsule – one of the most A.D.D.-riddled bands I’ve ever heard. Right from the first blast off of “True Blue”, you’ll have basically no idea what’s going on until you switch it off, but give it a chance. They’re continually unpredictable to the point that the first listen or two might just seem irritating, but like many bands in this field of music (specifically pg.99), the third or fourth listen is the one that allows you to discern progressions, melodies, and, you know, music.
When the band actually allows the music to fall into an intelligible groove, it’s like a puzzle piece sliding into place. You can nod along properly (I always picture the part at a show where you get to stand still for a moment), but obviously the chaotic parts are what make the sound, and Capsule are going for a sort of balance between both extremes.
The guys do tend to push too far on both sides of the equation, but you can catch up to the sporadic tempo freakouts – it’s tougher to love the real pulse draggers that inexplicably cloud the middle of the album. “Determinal” is basically 9 minutes of one chord. It’s bizarre having a 9-minute track next to all these 1-2 minute tracks, and it really breaks down the momentum – much like “Disconnecktie” from Norma Jean’s O God, the Aftermath, only more ridiculous. Such a meditative piece is not entirely unwelcome on an album of this velocity, but it belongs at the very end, like the title track from Converge’s Jane Doe.
“Blue/Green” follows “Determinal”, with its 5 minutes of what sounds like ambient Japanese music (seriously.) What are these tracks doing in the middle of the album? If the group wanted to show two sides of their musical personality, which was obviously a main objective in recording this album, they would have done a lot better to make all the tracks heavy and then quiet, rather than having a bunch of crazy tracks and then some very not-crazy tracks. Just throwing those in there guarantees that they’ll be skipped. Thankfully, “Flowerpower” brings the rock back mightily and although it ends on a more entrancing melody, this time it really works for their sound, because here the band blend their personalities in a single track – which is what they should have been doing all along.
Recommended If You Like:
Pg. 99, The Number 12 Looks Like You, Dillinger Escape Plan
Check ‘em Out:
www.myspace.com/capsulefl (http://www.myspace.com/capsulefl)
Record Label: Robotic Empire
Release Date: March 17, 2008
If you think that Dillinger Escape Plan and The Number 12 Looks Like You are too slow, predictable, and wussy, you might enjoy Capsule – one of the most A.D.D.-riddled bands I’ve ever heard. Right from the first blast off of “True Blue”, you’ll have basically no idea what’s going on until you switch it off, but give it a chance. They’re continually unpredictable to the point that the first listen or two might just seem irritating, but like many bands in this field of music (specifically pg.99), the third or fourth listen is the one that allows you to discern progressions, melodies, and, you know, music.
When the band actually allows the music to fall into an intelligible groove, it’s like a puzzle piece sliding into place. You can nod along properly (I always picture the part at a show where you get to stand still for a moment), but obviously the chaotic parts are what make the sound, and Capsule are going for a sort of balance between both extremes.
The guys do tend to push too far on both sides of the equation, but you can catch up to the sporadic tempo freakouts – it’s tougher to love the real pulse draggers that inexplicably cloud the middle of the album. “Determinal” is basically 9 minutes of one chord. It’s bizarre having a 9-minute track next to all these 1-2 minute tracks, and it really breaks down the momentum – much like “Disconnecktie” from Norma Jean’s O God, the Aftermath, only more ridiculous. Such a meditative piece is not entirely unwelcome on an album of this velocity, but it belongs at the very end, like the title track from Converge’s Jane Doe.
“Blue/Green” follows “Determinal”, with its 5 minutes of what sounds like ambient Japanese music (seriously.) What are these tracks doing in the middle of the album? If the group wanted to show two sides of their musical personality, which was obviously a main objective in recording this album, they would have done a lot better to make all the tracks heavy and then quiet, rather than having a bunch of crazy tracks and then some very not-crazy tracks. Just throwing those in there guarantees that they’ll be skipped. Thankfully, “Flowerpower” brings the rock back mightily and although it ends on a more entrancing melody, this time it really works for their sound, because here the band blend their personalities in a single track – which is what they should have been doing all along.
Recommended If You Like:
Pg. 99, The Number 12 Looks Like You, Dillinger Escape Plan
Check ‘em Out:
www.myspace.com/capsulefl (http://www.myspace.com/capsulefl)