Captain

If I were Captain and I’d read the preview of tonight’s show in the local daily I would be bristling. The Manchester Evening News described them as ‘MOR’ and lumped the band in with Maroon 5, a veiled jibe if ever there was one. Granted, any argument against this adult oriented insult was weakened by the site of two men who could only be described as middle aged trying to blag their way in, but one look around when you walk through the door seem to dispel the argument as it is a predominantly under 30 audience, although a stage time of 9:15 does suggest they think the crowd will want an early night.

Captain take to the stage in darkness, but you can easily make out singer Rik Flynn with his trademark hat silhouetted and glued to his head. They choose to open with ‘Hazelville’, the track that starts the album – released on the day of the gig and a song that broods for a while before a full on noisy chorus. Immediately, those 80’s comparisons kick in. With the dour jagged voice of Flynn welding beautifully with Clare Szembek’s shy and slightly heliumed harmony you are immediately reminded of Prefab Sprout and the Go Betweens. There is nothing wrong with that.

On record the synthesiser is too high in the mix, probably at the insistence of legendary producer Trevor Horne, but live the guitars rule the roost and the songs have more edge to them. There’s plenty of passion from the band too, Flynn clasping his hands together tighter than a little boy at first communion as he intensely sings “to get you home” at the end of ‘Wax’.

‘Frontline’ is absolutely blissful. It defies you to hear it and not give in to its loveliness, sticking a huge great grin on your fizzog while you’re at it. It hints that they are a perfect festival band and should be confined to touring the UK only between the clocks going forward and back. Even in a small sweaty venue like the Roadhouse, you can transport yourself to a summer meadow with an outdoor stage where you could drink and sing with friends to ‘Glorious’ and ‘Summer Rain’. Promoters agree, they’ve played 8 festies so far in 2006.



They finish with ‘Accidie’, apparently a sweet finish to the night as Szembek repeat “give me something to remember” over a fading tune. Suddenly though, they accede to the request with a surprising burst of guitars to conclude and some feedback to leave the stage to.

Anyone who accuses this band of being MOR plainly hasn’t seen them. Neither are they in the indie pigeon hole, as like Paddy McAlloon and Prefab Sprout before them they seem to be striving to make the perfect pop song. That they have come so close so early is quite remarkable.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.