As a band formed of old high school friends, Captain Mantis has an inherent turn to the past to it. Mainly influenced by Classic Rock, the four-piece Mexican band aims to create original Classic Rock that is simultaneously organic and original while having a vintage outlook. Their EP “Vice Market”, set for release on the 15th of this August, shows very well how they go about this end.
Vocalist Checo Ruizesparza, guitarist Pato Sepúlveda, drummer Charly “El Pulpo” Lowry, and bassist and main songwriter Ignacio Alvarez, former school friends in Monterrey, Mexico are the main members of the band. Even one of their producers so far, Paco Lazo, is another school friend. Though the members’ background is evidently similar, each brings such a diverse aspect to the EP that sets it apart from other current productions.
The English-language EP opens with “Moonshine Alley”, a classic “textbook” opener, as the band itself admits: an energetic, drum-dominated song that could easily be the soundtrack of a movie prom dance set in the 80s. Such as it is, the song is coherent, smooth and fun to listen to, but simultaneously, its textbook-ness make it one of the less unique features on the four-tracks EP. As the EP goes on to its second track, more unique and diverse approaches are found.
“Simon Frost” is a fun, classic ballad that surprises you mid-way with its sudden turn to more classic rock and rock n’ roll sounds, with a jazz sounding intersection that allows drummer Charly Lowry and guitarist Pato Sepúlveda to play off each other and show off the influences that inspire their work. While the song’s many turns can make it less of a smooth experience compared to the opener, it also makes it more interesting to listen to. Simply put, it’s a difficult song to put on in the background and forget about as it continuously demands your full attention to really appreciate it.
The third track Galatea, also a ballad, is much slower and softer. Very reminiscent of the Beatles, you can almost hear Lennon’s voice echoing in vocalist Checo Ruizesparza’s voice at moments. As should be the case with ballads, the guitar arrangements are intricate, yet demand little attention, setting the scene for Checo’s voice to softly shine. The stand-out track, however, is by far the last one, Vice Market. With subtle Latin Rock inspirations, with a mix of English and Spanish singing, the song returns more to the dominant Classic Rock of the opener, but takes it further with a more broad mix of genres that include Acoustic Rock, Blues influences, and Britpop.
With such a turn to a distant past, Captain Mantis’ task is a difficult one: create a vintage feel, create the Classic Rock of olds, without indulging too far and ending up retreading and imitating the past. Certain tracks of the EP are more successful than others as far as it concerns this aspect. Yet, over all, Captain Mantis is a band to look out for, with an undeniably diverse and fun original EP.
