The Capitol Years - Let Them Drink

Genre rock Publisher Burn and Shiver External Links Official Site Burn and Shiver

While bands like The Von Bondies and The Vines were enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame thanks to the so-called "garage-rock revolution," Philadelphia's The Capitol Years were quietly touring the country and putting out records that put anything by either of those bands to shame. Most bands lumped into the "garage rock" scene mistook the label as an excuse to simply crank up the amps to eleven and revel in half-assed dirty blues-rock grooves. What they conveniently forgot, however, was that the best of the original garage rock scene were just as much about the 1960's psychedelic pop explorations as they were about the lo-fi, DIY aesthetic. It's one thing to dirty up your sound with distorted guitars and lewd vocals, but another thing entirely to create an engaging pop song worthy of repeated listens while you are doing it. The Capitol Years key to success is the second part of that equation, taking the necessary steps to turn an ordinary stone into an exquisite gem.

Take, for example, Let Them Drink's opening track, "Juicers" which kicks off with some monstrously propulsive drumming and a wonderful bouncing bassline. It's an inauspicious start, but things quickly get more interesting as more sounds are added into the mix. The multi-layered vocal harmony comes in and lifts the martial beat to dizzying heights, but just as the groove really starts to get going, the bass and distorted guitar drop out leaving us with just the drums and matching staccato acoustic strumming. It's a somewhat disorienting trick, but the vocals keep the song grounded and flowing along nicely. We slowly build towards another climax as the full beat swings back to life, this time accompanied by well-placed tambourines and horns before fading out with more gentle harmonies and backwards tape effects. This transitions us into the more straightforward rock stomp of "Mounds of Money," which is also the album's first single. While this may resemble the more traditional garage rock tune, the twin guitar attack of lead singer Shai Halperin and Jeff Van Newkirk, complete with battling mini-solos, keeps things from falling into any sort of a rut.

This ability to keep things exciting and fresh is one of the album's, and band's, strongest assets - as they manage to spice up every track without falling to gimmickry or blatant trickery. The revival tent-hymn swagger of "Solid Gold," complete with backing organ, or the droning lullaby guitars of the title track are just a few examples of this. The dual guitar format pops up frequently over the course of the album, bringing to mind Television without letting the instruments dominate the mix. At times the guitars will circle and lash out at each other in angular, post-punk riffs while other times they work in tandem to create a disorienting psychedelic stew, but they always create a perfect foundation for the wonderful vocals of Halperin (a.k.a. Shai, Son of Eli). Whether he is going the track alone or accompanied by gentle multi-part harmonies, Halperin keeps the pop sensibilities in check and prevents the album from running off the rails. Let Them Drink doesn't stray too far from your standard rock topics in the lyric department, with love gone wrong and drinking said love out of mind being two of the more frequent topics. One strong exception is the Strokes-like tale of big city life, "Ramona," which bemoans the loss of a girl's love as she trades in the pampered living she has always known for the decadent land of bright lights and smog. "She will have a good time / I won't have a good time" laments Halperin over spiky new-wave guitars and another solid performance by bassist Dave Wayne Daniels.

If you go back and listen to the garage-rock touchstone Nuggets compilation, you will find that the true garage spirit embodies a whole lot more than loud distortion and sleazy sex appeal. The best of that era combined a love for volume and sleaze with an appreciation for pop values and an ear for a good hook or solid melody. The Capitol Years keeps that tradition alive in the twenty-first century, cranking out a solid disc full of rocking tunes that never loses touch with the necessary ingredients for an enjoyable spin even after repeated listens. They may have been born in a Philly garage, but they've spent enough time in the sunshine to know how to have fun.