Music Review/Album: 08 Nov 2010
Celina Murphy

Haunted Light

Surreal, but loving it

At the risk of opening with a potshot, the first long-player from shoegazey Dublin outfit Cap Pas Cap sounds exactly as I was expecting it to. But let me explain – to read this as an insult would be to hugely underestimate how seriously the trio have been taking their avant-garde kraut pop since their formation back in 2005.

Yup, back when Conor O’Brien was making headlines with The Immediate, Cap Pas Cap were the hottest new trip-poppers in the capital. It’s no wonder that long time live favourites ‘Mirrors’ and ‘We Are Men’ open Haunted Light, fizzing with a triumphant thump and quite miraculously, flowing into new material seamlessly. Next up, plodding sea shanty ‘Ship Shadow’ is a shy delight, while extra-terrestrial ditty ‘Friends’ is flooded with warped synths. In other words, Ladytron, if you’re reading, eat your robotic heart out.

There have, of course, been changes in camp Cap over the years. Once peppered with male and female vocals, CPC now leave the pipe work up to deadpan crooner Gráinne Donohue, who sounds every bit the sultry ghoul on Haunted Light. Undisputed star of the show is breakneck rocktronica number ‘Y Lies’, which is blessed with a criminally good jagged ‘L.I.E.S’ refrain. Crucially, a lot of these tracks have real dancefloor potential.

It’s a pretty rare and special thing for a band to retain such a solid sound from conception to debut album. The key seems to be that Cap Pas Cap are in no way ashamed of their scenester roots (how’s this for cool – Haunted Light will also get a limited release on vinyl and cassette) and it’s this self-indulgence that makes CPC’s debut such a pleasure to listen to.

Key Track: ‘Y Lies’