May 01, 2000 • Household Name Records
While hardcore punk took a pretty big nosedive after the '80s and has only recently started to resurface (in my eyes, anyway), there are still a few good albums from that in-between period floating around out there. And apparently all the good '00s stuff is ska-hardcore fusion à la Leftöver Crack (not that I have a problem with that!). Capdown is basically a lighter and more fun version of that style, and pulled together a really good album.
Most of the album is pretty standard early-eighties-influenced hardcore with the polish of the late '90s, a good combination to start with. Ska is something I'm generally not a fan of, but it's mixed well into a few of the songs, although you won't hear as much of it as you might expect. Like Leftöver Crack, the horn section actually does exist, but it's very downplayed and barely even used. The exception is some extensive saxophone work, which is really well-done most of the time, playing both support and soloing roles. There's some dub thrown in as well (of course), and while I never really cared for dub this is a marginally more interesting example of the genre for me, especially with it being a bit more noisy and dissonant than usual.
The album does suffer a bit from low-level unoriginality; the melodies and riffs themselves aren't terribly original, so things definitely drag on in the second half. But things like the sax and scratching other gimmicks manage to keep things entertaining anyway. For me, Civil Disobedients is the kind of album I throw on for aesthetic appeal, when I want something a bit less dark than Fuck World Trade.
Maybe I don't listen to enough ska to see this sort of music as silly, like some people seem to, but that's okay. I still enjoy this sort of cynical, self-aware punk and this album nicely filled a hole in my collection; I'm happy to have heard it.
No comments:
Post a Comment