Capitol K
Island Row
XL
The mystery that is Capitol K unfolds slowly and incompletely, but is still satisfying near its end. Mechanically, the album is a slice-and-dice composition, along the lines of what Aphex Twin, and more appropriately, Squarepusher have been bringing to the forefront. The opening “City” spins your head with a quick tour of what’s to come, as a hyperkinetic beat is quickly surrounded by a variety of busy sounds and a backwards sampled guitar line that menacingly darts in and out like an angered hornet. In contrast to this frenetic introduction, “Pillow” is such a perfect pop song it hurts, with dreamy bell-like tones worthy of Belle And Sebastian assembled and rewired into something glittering and technological. So follows the rest of the album, not just refusing to dance along the line separating electronic from organic but refusing to recognize it at all. An engrossing and highly involved musical outing.
XL Recordings: http://www.xl-recordings.com • Capitol K: http://www.capitolk.com
