Review: Capac – Pastels

I don’t know whether it’s symbolic of my advancing years or not but dubstep has yet to truly capture my interest.  In fairness to Liverpool’s Capac – despite employing elements of this subgenre – they operate under the broad church of electronica and their EP shows encouraging signs of creativity and that all-important quality of human emotion.

‘Palindrome’ begins, rather unpromisingly, as a cold, clinical piece with precise beats dominant. However, then effects-saturated guitars begin to take over and then we’re in (for me) the very familiar territory of shoegaze. The elegant ‘Missing 36’ adds levels of mystery and intrigue and even features an orchestral segment.

‘Flies’ is the one disappointment; it’s an uninvolving slab of minimal techno but ‘Circle, Yes’ wipes out that memory as a reversed acoustic guitar figure creates an atmosphere of loss and euphoria all at once. Saving the best until last, though, ‘May Hill’ is simply wonderful as the delayed beats combine with downtempo electronica.

Unusually for a techno record, ‘Pastels’ satisfyingly grows in stature with each listen. Amongst the carefully processed beats, there is an inner core of melancholy that sets its apart from its contemporaries.

Web Sites:
Capac Official Site
On The Shelf Records Site

Further Listening:
Nedry

Advertisement