Album Review: Capture Phase by Capture Phase (by Marcus Pond)

Capture Phase is a four piece group out of the great city of Austin, Texas.

Their three-song self-titled EP was released in December of 2019, but didn’t drift onto my radar until the second week of January, when I was combing through the show listings of some of my favorite Austin venues. Their Bandcamp page has quite a few other genres listed, so much so that I wondered if this would be an enjoyable entry for CPRW readers/listeners. However, in addition to having the labels “experimental”, “progressive”, and “noise rock”, they also had “punk” listed twice, so I’ll allow it.

If I had to file them into one of punk’s many sub-genres, I’d probably go with “post-hardcore”, since “Minute Man” scratches the itch in the part of my brain that really likes Hot Snakes and Fugazi. It opens up the EP with a burst of frenetic drumming and angular guitars screeching, before a humming bass line leads to some Ian MacKaye-esque vocals. I can hardly make out the lyrics, but themes of corruption and the repeated line “Screaming / At the ceiling” tell you what you need to know about this track.

My favorite tune is the closer, “Bone Consulate”, which was featured on the January CPRW playlist. Here, Capture Phase utilized some time signature changes and jazzy drumming to worm the line “Inside the Bone Consulate” into my brain. I don’t know what (or where?) the Bone Consulate is, but it’s sung with such a swagger that I’m pretty sure it’s cool and maybe a little dangerous but has good music playing on the PA. I sort of want to go there.

On display in this EP is Capture Phase’s ability to create a swirling ocean of sound in each verse, and pull the listener out of the water for a few moments during the chorus, catching their breath before getting pulled back in. On repeat listens, I was able to better appreciate what I had already seen live, especially the top-notch drum work and alternating vocals.

The unofficial/official motto of Austin is “Keep Austin Weird”, so it makes sense that Capture Phase don’t fit perfectly into a niche. The Texas capital is a musical melting pot, and it wouldn’t surprise me if each of the band members’ previous groups were from totally different genres.

While they may not sound like your typical fist-in-the-air, mosh-pit punkers, Capture Phase still have a punk streak that’s evident in their delivery and attitude. I don’t personally have a ton of other bands in my music library that I’d compare them to, but in this case, it’s the variety that’s the spice of life.

RIYL: Fugazi, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, breakfast tacos and kolaches.

Stream and download Capture Phase here.

Like Capture Phase here.

This review was written by Marcus Pond.