Captain Orange - Will Prevail

When Captain Orange sent me the promo for their new album 'Will Prevail', I don't think they remember my name since I reviewed their debut album during the time when I ran my old netzine Neurozine.com. If I remember it correctly, I think I gave them a 2 out of 10 and pretty much spread my despise in a thin layer all over it. Is 'Will Prevail' a great revenge to 'X-Terminator'?

As with the prior releases of Captain Orange, my main issue is with the vocals. Even though it's a bit better compared to the debut album, it's still sometimes like being struck by an electric fence. But this time though you actually go "He's going to make it, he's going to get it clean all the way.. AOUCH! no? there he blew it?". The singing style reminds me a bit of Alexander Hoffman (S.P.O.C.K.) during their early days. But where Alexander's false notes had some charm with all the E.Ts and Androids, it does unfortunately not work as well in this case.

The sad thing is that it could actually be pretty good if they just fixed the vocals. They got some good electro pop melodies and the sound quality and mastering is well done. I even like the 10th track "Crash and Burn". The talent is there, the singing is not. I think they would gain a lot if they would become a three man band. Let the current duo do the music and even the lyrics, but get a new lead vocalist.

What baffles me though is that the general underground media has given prior releases pretty good scores over the years and the band gathered a pretty decent fan base. For me, it ranges from unlistenable to pretty alright. Apr 08 2011