Album Review: Calling All Captains - Slowly Getting Better
Slowly Getting Better is Calling All Captains’ debut album.
WORDS BY JAZMIN LEMUS
Canada’s very own pop punk/post-hardcore quintet, Calling All Captains, have hit a milestone in their career by releasing their debut full-length, Slowly Getting Better, via Equal Vision Records!
Slowly Getting Better is a reflection of hardships, persistence, love, and acceptance. While the band tackles the issues about drugs and mental health, they also offer some hope and let listeners know that they’re not alone in these struggles, should they be dealing with these issues. When it comes to their sound, Calling All Captains, finds ways to balance pop punk and post-hardcore throughout the album.
The album kicks off with “Laurel Canyon”, which was the last single the band released before the album release. “Laurel Canyon” starts off quietly and about 15 seconds later, the guitars slowly kick in. At the 20 second mark, the other instruments kick in and start to crescendo. The song is full of breakdowns and may remind listeners of A Day To Remember. “I’m searching for solace” is a line in the chorus that will resonate with some listeners.
Following “Laurel Canyon” is “Collapse”, which starts off leaning more on the rock side than their pop punk side. “Tailspin” is the third song off the record and carries a pop punk sound that I imagine, once fans become familiar with the song, they will be singing it at a show at the top of their lungs. And for anyone who is not familiar with the band when the time comes, this song would be one they could be head bopping to!
For fans of post-hardcore and pop punk, “Steady Pensive” has the perfect combination of post-hardcore and pop punk. And some very fast drumming!
“Loving Cup” is the fifth song off the album that starts with a slow introduction that include just vocals and guitar. Once the instruments come into the song, vocalist, Luc Gauthier, takes a break. With lyrics such as “People die everyday. Why’s it different when it’s someone you know?”, personally makes me think about what the context of the question and the song is. Is it about someone specific? This song is going to be in my rotation for awhile.
“Loyalty” starts off with a scream. For fans that are about the heavier sound, this song is for them! The song is mostly heavy and the verses have mostly screams, while the chorus has clean vocals. Following “Loyalty” is “Undone” and this is another song that leans heavy with mostly clean vocals. The chorus does seem to sound a little softer as you can hear a little bit of the pop punk sound with the guitars.
“Broken Glass” kicks off with a combination of hardcore and pop punk, which may remind listeners of The Story So Far. For fans of the band’s screaming and aggressive style, the song gets to it with about 30 seconds left in it. Following “Broken Glass” is “Wasted”, which is one of the singles that the band released and it contains a fair mix of hardcore and pop punk with the band’s aggressive vocal style kicking in at about 30 seconds.
“Vacant Sentiment” is the second to the last song of the album and it can be found on the pop punk part of the musical spectrum. And finally, to end things, “Friends and Family” is the last song on Slowly Getting Better.
When it comes to their sound, Calling All Captains perfectly combines their post-hardcore side with their pop punk side on “Friends and Family”. The song sounds to be about how family and friends may not see the new “me” that happens to be the subject the song is talking about. Family and friends are asking the person to change even though it sounds like the person is happy with who they are. This song also seems to address mental health when you hear “my mind is playing tricks on me again”. Musically and vocally, I can see how this song will end up in fans’ heavy rotation.
To sum it up, Slowly Getting Better, is an album that will be enjoyed by fans that love hardcore and/or pop punk. There is a song on this album that will satisfy fans of both genres.
Slowly Getting Better is out NOW! You can buy and/or stream it HERE and also visit callingallcaptainsband.com for details on the band’s upcoming album release show in Edmonton, Alberta!