Capsule - "Blue"

Capsule - Flowerpower (Robotic Empire 2008)

Capsule - Blue / Robotic Empire

Capsule's Blue officially marks the last time I sleep on a release from Richmond's Robotic Empire. So busy was I worrying over how soon that Nirvana tribute compilation was coming out that I completely passed over arguably the best -core release of the year this side of Board Up the House. Actually, scratch that: Blue doesn't need a qualifier. It's simply one of the best records of the year, straight up. But if you missed it, you're not alone: I only stumbled across it via one of my counterparts over at Indierocket!, and later discovered this album was released on St. Patrick's Day as Robo 073. Keep in mind we're up to Robo 084 already (though a few have not been released).

Nevermind timeliness. I mean, I know I've seen somebody wearing one of those Capsule shirts before, so I guess I haven't been totally out of the loop. The second (but technically first?) full-length for this Miami-based trio is a stunning display of shredding through verses and choruses with lightning-fast playing and all the voltage besides. There's no time wasted on an introduction, the efficient "True Blue" blasting your speakers straight away and leaving a stream of noise two and a quarter minutes long in its wake. The ragged sound of the guitars complements the lo-fi vocals calling to mind any forward-thinking hardcore between about 1996 and 2002 (or the untimely demise of Orchid). Time spent cutting their teeth with the excellent Tunes for Bears to Dance To and likewise esteemable Tyranny of Shaw have helped hone the Capsule aesthetic, which until now had culminated in a cassette for the 'Empire back in 2006.

Indeed, we're nearly three years from their signing, but the wait is worth it: This is one of the tightest, most ruthless records of the year (not to mention the artwork, that thankfully has nothing to do with the band's original name: I Love U). Crazy time signature changes and gritty guitar sounds are fantastic and everything, but part of the reason Blue feels the way it does is - and this has been pointed out elsewhere, but I'll reiterate - is because of the intensity of the low-end. Those downstroke strums resonate well beyond your speakers, through your ribcage, right to the neurons in the gray matter of your brain. This is best exemplified in the outro strumming of "Going Home," an eight-minute closer that comes complete with a hidden bonus track reprising the conclusion of "Cobalt Connection" to stretch things out nearly 17 minutes. Okay, so sure, they know their references well: Pg. 99, Orchid, City of Caterpillar, early Drive Like Jehu, Indian Summer, Hot Cross, the bands they used to be in. But maybe they're also listening to all that Miami bass coming from the high-end cabanas that line the shore. I have no evidence to suggest this, but the thought of Capsule considering Rick Ross on any level is an intriguing game to play.

As I write this, the band is playing one show for the impressive Dudefest '08 down in Bloomington, Indiana. But while their tour schedule may be limited at the moment, the praise for this record and everything this band is doing is not. With good reason: Capsule's Blue says everything a hardcore record should say these days without sounding too glossy or too aimlessly chaotic. The band has a purpose, a direction, a drive. As long as they stay together, it's hard to imagine them making a bad record. For now, Blue stands as the highlight of a strong roster release schedule from Robotic Empire. It's a relief being able to say that three months after the fact rather than three weeks before.