Wednesday 29 August 2018

Album Review: This Place Matters by The Capital (by Emma Prew)


The Capital are a band that seemingly came out of nowhere for me and yet absolutely blew me away. Back in July we saw them at a New Cross Inn all-dayer headlined by Red City Radio. Playing their first show in London, the five-piece from Preston wowed not just me but the whole NXI crowd and earned themselves plenty of new fans with their slick and passionate rock ‘n’ roll infused punk rock. Since seeing the band live, I’ve listened to their latest EP, This Place Matters, quite a lot and so I think it’s time I gave it a review!


Kicking off the EP is a song titled Trouble. After a short fade in we are soon hit by pounding drums and huge sounding melodic guitars. When the vocals come in, you can be sure that the guitars aren’t the only things that’s huge on this track – frontman Seamus Mcloughlin’s voice is incredible. It’s not the sort of voice that I’m all that used to hearing in punk rock to be honest as it is perhaps more akin to that of a stadium rock band. Although one punk band that I was definitely reminded of – and Colin and I both thought this when we saw The Capital live – is Crazy Arm (who happen to be one of my all-time favourite UK punk bands). When the chorus hits it is powerful and anthemic – ‘There’s a fire here, We’re in trouble, Something’s happened to us, There’s a feeling in our hearts, We’re in trouble.’ One thing for sure is that I really want to sing along! Trouble fades out and we’re thrown straight into the next song, Harbour In A Storm. The stop-start guitars at the beginning of the song bring the punk rock influence into play but it’s not too long before the power is amped up again and the song is transformed into a rock anthem. There’s some great slightly slower and quieter moments in the run up to the chorus where all the focus is on Seamus’s flawless vocals before the rest of the band joins in for some whoa-ohs. Another fade out after the lines ‘You’re the only one.’ bring track number two to a close. The first two tracks on This Place Matters were relatively mid-tempo and so when the third song, Rise Above It All, starts in a fast a furious fashion I was a little surprised. Pleasantly surprised, mind you. Here The Capital show that they are every bit as capable as playing fierce punk rock as, say, Hot Water Music. It is brilliant to have this change of pace and the track is certainly well placed at the middle point of the EP. There are, of course, plenty of moments that are begging for a singalong but perhaps the chorus of Rise Above It All will evoke one or two shout/scream-alongs as well. ‘I’ve been waiting, I’ve been waiting, To rise above it all, Like anyone, Just give me something, To rise above it all.’ Awesome stuff.

The penultimate track of the EP is also its title track, This Place Matters. I’m going to go right out there and say that if you’re only going to listen to one song by The Capital (but don’t just listen to one song), then make sure that it is this one. Perhaps I’m saying this because I know how well this song was received live but, on recording also, it is superb. This Place Matters is about how important music venues and pubs are and how much they matter. When we saw The Capital live, This Place Matters was dedicated to our beloved New Cross Inn but it is applicable to any independent venue throughout the UK. Without those venues, we wouldn’t have this music scene, we wouldn’t have The Capital, I wouldn’t be reviewing this EP, this blog wouldn’t exist. Support live music. Also the song is so uplifting. Only Human is the closing song of This Place Matters and it wonderfully combines everything that is great about The Capital – and then some. Here Seamus’s voice brings to mind Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam – and it doesn’t get much more stadium rock than that – but at the same time it feels very down to earth. I often mention in my reviews how relatable the lyrics are for listeners – something that is perhaps more prevalent in punk rock than, say, pop music – and you can’t get more relatable than a song about being human. The chorus is also rather catchy, features some sweet harmonies – ‘The tide is turning, The tide is turning, Turning around, I’m not letting go.’ – and is followed up by a guitar solo. What more could you want?

The Capital are definitely a band that I’ll be keeping an eye on and I’d be very keen to see them live again, whenever they venture back down south.

This Place Matters is available digitally on Spotify and iTunes etc., as well as on CD from Bad Horror Records, and you can (and should) like The Capital on Facebook here.

This review was written by Emma Prew.

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