Review Summary: It's been a really trying year
The Future Is Cancelled was a very heavy record. Not so much musically, although it certainly had its moments of crashing chaos, but more-so with its lyrics that detailed mental illness, suicide attempts, a hostile divorce, and critiques of religion. It was several moments of catharsis and anger backed up by gritty guitars, pounding drums, and two of the most emotive and intense vocalists in the current punk/emo scene. Leo Vergnetti and Bobby Barnett (yes, the brother of Greg Barnett from The Menzingers) unleashed a flurry of sharp, blood stained lyrics that detailed the aforementioned topics above yet, in a very devious move by the band, elected to contrast them with some of the catchiest melodies and anthemic choruses of that year. Its been four years since then and Captain, We're Sinking have returned with another crushingly powerful addition to their short, but important discography.
Lets go ahead and get this out of the way: this album isnt quite as dark or as angular as its predecessor, and that's a good thing. Too much of a good thing can lead to diminishing returns but luckily that's not an issue here. This batch of songs, while still touching on a couple past topics, are more introspective and have a little more room to catch their breath. There's more space in some of the songs, album highlights "Smash 2" and "Hunting Trip" have some of the quietest moments in the bands discography, comparable to "A Bitter Divorce". Captain, We're Sinking also play around with song structures, a good majority of the songs don't really have a discernible chorus but instead build and build to a certain moment or feel more like a stream-of-conscious barrage of verses and a bridge. This leads to the album having a lot of diversity and makes the anticipation for each subsequent song all the more enticing. Another difference is how far Leo Vergnetti has improved as a vocalist. Don't get me wrong, hes always been a good singer and his yelps and aggression helped sell some of the darker moments on the last album, but here his tone is much clearer and he sounds like he has a larger range and more control over his voice. Bobby Barnett delivers as well, crafting sunny melodies and contrasting them with self deprecating and sometimes downright depressing lyrics like "its been a really trying year" or "it was on that hunting trip when you were a kid, you lost your father now you can't hide from it". Frankly pretty much every song on this album has an addicting hook or a catchy melody that will keep you coming back for more, even if sometimes the lyrics can be a hard pill to swallow.
The production is cleaner than the last record, giving the album a real "pop" to it with clear instruments and rich harmonies. Bobby and Leo aren't just accomplished singers, they're incredibly talented guitarists as well, layering intricate rhythms and leads and playing off each other with an undeniable chemistry. Bassist Zack Charette and drummer Bill Orender are no slouches either, providing a rock solid backbone to the songs and giving the songs even more personality than they already portray. Fans of the last album will be in for a treat with "The Future Is Cancelled Pt II", I wont spoil anything but lets just say the song is a worthy followup to one of the highlights on the previous album. Closer "The King Of No Man" has an almost bluesy feel to it with a meandering guitar line and a jazzy drumbeat leading us into a more reserved, but still powerful, closer with Bobby touching on more themes from the previous few releases such as depression and religion/sin. Its a pretty moving finale and a fitting curtain call to an album that took the stage by storm and delivered in spades.
If you let it, The King Of No Man will be a wonderful companion to The Future Is Cancelled and may even surpass it for you. Its a very cathartic album, the audio equivalent of getting a massive weight of your chest that you didn't even know was there. In a year that's been tumultuous the say the least, both for me personally and for the world at large, its nice to have that tiny little spark to keep you warm if only but for forty minutes. Ignite The King Of No Man and bask in its glory because the year isn't over yet, but that's ok because Captain, We're Sinking have got you covered. Give it a spin and support the band, you wont regret it.
