THE CAPES' Surreal Introduction to the USA

By Andy Smith

As prime contenders to be the next breakout buzz band from London's hip art school indie environs, the Capes set out on their maiden US tour in September. With the seven song Taste EP already receiving attention from critics and radio, these five affable guys took a journey that would a prime introduction to the often bizarre life of the American road.

In Burlington, Vermont, the Capes opened for one-time Guns n' Roses member (or maybe he's still in the band, who the hell knows?) Dizzy Reed, who promptly drank an entire bottle of Jaegermeister (apologies to his liver) and played a set of cover tunes. In Indianapolis, the band opened for the Fluff Girls Burlesque Show, which marked perhaps the first step in fusing classic burlesque dancing and sword swallowing with UK post-punk pop music; attentive music scholars are certainly poised to follow this development closely. But also along the way, the band had played more conventional gigs with the likes of the Warlocks and Gris Gris, though these shows will probably be less memorable in the long run than their forays into surrealism.

By the time the band hit Austin in mid-October, they were in the home-stretch of their six-week journey and were celebrating the October 11 release of their full-length debut Hello on hip new LA label Hard Soul Records. But for a band that had been grinding their way across the US, the band seemed to have survived their trip with their enthusiasm still in tact.

The Capes will inevitably be lumped in with the UK bands that broke through during the past 12 months with Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party in mind first and foremost, but these comparisons are borne more out of convenience than accuracy. If Taste is any indication, there is a much poppier sheen to the Capes' edgy style, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by some the bands' more noteworthy listeners. "Graham Coxon told us that we sounded like XTC, but we hadn't actually heard them," admits singer/guitarist Kris Barratt. "So we had to look them up to find out."

photo by Andy Willshire

But even though Coxon's comparison is somewhat accurate, as is the link to Coxon's old band Blur, Barratt says that his personal influences are not even British. "I'm actually more influenced by American bands, like Pavement and Guided By Voices," he says. "I definitely think that we're more poppy and less angular than most of the British bands people say we sound like."

Still, even though it is sometimes a trap to be lumped in with other bands, bassist Rupert Cresswell doesn't seem too phased: "Scenes provide introductions to bands that people think are part of that scene. But with us, I think once people hear us and what we actually sound like, we're in the clear." And his observation has been supported by the initial response of American college radio to Hello, which has built on the initial response to Taste, being firmly ensconced in upper quarter of CMJ's Top 200 chart since its release.

But despite hopes of duplicating the recent success of their aforementioned post-punk predecessors, for right now the Capes seem more focused on a more mundane existence. "Right now, we really just want to make enough money to keep traveling," says Barratt. "And since we've given up our jobs, we have to sustain ourselves by touring." If the growing enthusiasm for this exciting new band is any indication of what is to come, the Capes should have no problem finding fans to pack their shows.

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