New York-based Pete Rogers’ I, Captain continues to reap results with the second album “Outer Space”, released early this year on the 6th of January. Though the mutip-instrumentalist Pete Rogers has many releases under his name, his moniker I, Captain was created to give him more exploratory freedom where he could try out different musical identities and genre fusions.
So far, I, Captain has been most closely linked to Funk Rock and Punk Blues, the two genres that most dominate the new album, though other genres are heavily drawn upon, including elements of Art Rock, Heavy metal, Skate punk, Garage punk, Jazz fusion, Funk, Rock, Psychedelic rock, and Alternative rock. Unbound by genre conventions, the album gives itself enough space to explore musically as much as it does thematically; the album takes a journey across nine tracks exploring regular life and regular people, conflicted hearts and the consequences of taking any decision, except it’s all set in outer space.
A definitely unique concept that is not as nearly explored in either music or sci-fi fiction as it should be, grounding the album in such narratives gives it a charm similar to cozy sci-fi short stories, where every track stands in its own right and yet participates in a coherent larger picture. Clearly inspired by 70th concept albums, the charm of “Outer Space” is complemented by a sense of distant nostalgia.
The energetic rhythms and syncopated basslines mixed with the powerful guitar riffs of Funk Rock are perfect for such a thematic aim. Especially complemented by the more emotionally oriented blues. The album’s texture as a whole though is much more oriented in the music arrangement and mixtures rather than the vocals, which take a backseat. Musically, this is a choice that works very well, as the slightly distorted vocals distantly lure you in only to let the music linger. But it’s a choice that is somewhat in conflict with the storytelling ambitions of the album, as it takes a lot of hard work from the listener to figure out what is being told, lyrically, in each song.
This could be forgiven for the moody atmosphere the music sets up, one which could perfectly fit in an echo-y large but uncrowded bar on a weekday and small bedrooms at night where the listener could be transported with the music. The tracks that stand out with this moody quality best are the smoky, encompassing “the Reactive”, “Maintenance”, and “Outer Space”. Others like “Orbit”, which feature a heavier beat against a playful rhythm, offer different types of unique experiences.
Though more could’ve been done to bridge the musical and storytelling aims of the album, it is still a very good one that offers an overall fun and enjoyable listening experience. As a second album, it’s promising and shows that “I, Captain” is building a unique identity.
