Premiere: The Capsules- "Time Will Only Tell"

For as much of my life is steeped in musical ventures, journeys and, yes, hassles and busy work, too, The Capsules are one of those bands that, upon discovery, made my heart flutter for music all over again. In that regard, I’m happy to share with you the premiere of The Capsules’ single, “Time Will Only Tell,” from their brand new LP, Northern Lights & Southern Skies.

My peers say Northern Lights & Southern Skies lends itself to more of an electronic base than The Capsules’ previous material. Having discovered them less than a year ago, I cannot comment on that aspect. What I can tell you is that it is the perfect blend of guitar ambiance, functional bass and digital rigidity. The textures and tones that sit in the middle of each track make these songs candidates for a playlist that might be called ‘Robin Guthrie and the like,’ especially “Time Will Only Tell,” with its melodramatic symmetry and consistency.

This necessary robotic underbelly, ironically, lends a warm flow that bookends the textures, opposite the soothing one that Julie Shields’ vocals do, the regiment and cadence of which nod directly toward Scarling, Cure inspiration lineage included. The Capsules work the dreampop label, but the songs on Northern Lights & Southern Skies push into a heavier zone that is one part dirty electropop and one part shoegaze, though the latter sounds grittier at its guitar origins than anything we’ve heard over the past ten years or so. Hints of Lush, in fact, twisted up with some mechanical beating heart, might be the reason this record inspires me so. The Capsules’ record release show will take place at The House of Blues in Dallas, TX on January 18. For more information, visit thecapsules.com.



-Janey Criss