A Little More Kick, a Little Less Miracle
No need for sleeping pills, Dark Captain Light Captain has a cheaper alternative.
Dark Captain Light Captain
Miracle Kicker
Released on Oct 27, 2008
No matter if you’re a death metal band or a neo-folk duo, your music sets a certain tone. The lyrics and instrumentation of a song can cheer up a bad day or drive you deeper into your dark emotions. It takes a certain skill to inspire this into a listener, years of practice and songwriting. Or perhaps a weekend crash course with Morrissey. Though these lads have never taken a class with the English master himself, British band Dark Captain Light Captain and their debut album Miracle Kicker seek to find their own artistic openness in the U.S.
Not to sound totally corny, but Miracle Kicker has no kick at all. In fact you would need a miracle to make this album any good. All delightful puns aside, Dark Captain Light Captain creates the same song over and over again for ten tracks, making you think that your iPod has gotten permanently stuck on one song. There are some differentiations in tempo and key, but there are no extreme variations to make any one song stick out. The track “Circles” has some interesting parts, especially the staccato drum beat behind the trickling acoustic guitar. But it feels like it’s trying to be too many things at the same time. Is it psychedelic or folk or what? Some bands can go from genre to genre willy-nilly, but Dark Captain Light Captain isn’t up to the task just yet. “Circles” ends up the highlight reel of what the band could possible do with their talents.
If you wish to pursue your deep, dark emotions, Miracle Kicker is the right album to do it to. Sometimes creating a mood is more important than creating a cohesive album, and if that’s what Dark Captain Light Captain was pursuing then by George, they nailed it on the head. Each song is beautifully composed and perhaps each one played on it’s own would garner a different opinion. But listening to the entire album makes you feel like you’re watching a drug epic like Requiem for a Dream. The echoy vocals and somber guitar parts make Miracle Kicker a dreary experience, nothing to lighten a bad mood. The title track “Miracle Kicker” is somewhat uplifting but it’s underlying drone track and pseudo-whimsical bells make it a lackluster closer for the album. It overall feels like a hit or miss, something that could play in the background on Starbucks but never in your headphones.
High Point
The dream-like track “Jealous Enemies” is a great opener to Miracle Kicker.
Low Point
Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery while listening to Miracle Kicker as it may cause drowsiness.
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Nov 21, 2008 @ 2:00 pm