At its core, The Captain Is Dead... is an excellent pop album, which is no easy accomplishment. See, Minus Story are what the Elephant 6 collective sound like in writing: really damn good. The songs here are lush in their arrangement, but are also offset by the deceptively lo-fi production. Nervous, distorted drums permeate a lot of the album, accounting for several sudden blasts of noise. All the while, nasally vocals belt out incoherent verses over the washes of noise. Patches of accordion, glockenspiel, strings, and trumpet flow in and out of the mix, but if you don't pay attention, they will go by unnoticed. And that's what's so great about this record; everything seems carefully placed, plotted, and then blended into a cohesive sonic assault. Nothing sounds unnatural. Even with so much going on, it never sounds like a random instrument was inserted for the sake of variety, or to appear falsely cultured (although, I wonder what the result would be if they broke out the sitar... errr... nevermind).
The attention to detail and mood is part of what makes The Captain Is Dead... stand out amongst most other pop albums as of late. The brief, syncopated drumbeat in "Gravity Pulls" apex is a perfect example of the album's unexpected nature. Each song is constructed moment by moment, with as much attention given to a five second interlude as to an entire song. The only time this principle begins to waver is in the eight-minute "You're In My Air," where the sections seem to meander a bit. But that's ok, I forgive them. To throw out a comparison, imagine if late period Flaming Lips and the Microphones had a love child. That's kind of the idea. Needless to say, if you are a fan of those aforementioned bands (read: arty-pop music) you owe it to yourself to check out Minus Story.
1. Wont Be Fooled Again
2. The Happy Activist
3. Gravity Pulls
4. Open Your Eyes
5. You Were on My Side
6. Joyless, Joyless
7. You're My Air
More about: Minus Story
