Seven songs, 45 rpm 12”. Think Clean Plate, Level Plane, Perpetual Motion Machine, deals like that. Think sparse instrumental sections that build up to the yelling parts. Think that Daniel Striped Tiger manage to pull off some pretty interesting moments (most notably in the second song, “Defense Mechanism,” where the music shorts out right in the middle of a section—first in one speaker and then the other, so the first time you heard it you thought your record player had just taken the dirtnap—only to come back into one of those gentle, instrumental buildups. It was totally out of place and awesome for that fact.) Think that they remind you musically of Life At These Speeds and vocally like a slightly drugged Light The Fuse And Run. Think that while so few of the bands of this ilk rarely release records that totally floor you, it’s still a nice sound to have going on while you’re drawing or doing the dishes. Think that Daniel Striped Tiger, and almost all of the bands that remind you of them, seem to fare so much better in a live setting. Think that despite that fact, Capital Cities is still a pretty nice piece of work, though the band and label would’ve ultimately been better served had this record been reviewed by someone who’s way more geeked out on this kind of shit than you are.
–keith (Clean Plate)