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August 27, 2008
Neon Lights: the Capstan Shafts
A few proud soldiers in Dean Wells' CD-Rmy
What did you do today? Go to work, come home, eat a meal or two, a shower maybe, some TV, and then to bed? Well Dean Wells did those things too, but chances are he also wrote at least one killer song in addition. Recording as the Capstan Shafts, Dean has churned out as astonishing 25 albums and EPs this decade. As most all of his songs clock in between 45 seconds and 2 minutes, differentiating which is which becomes kind of tricky. These short fragments, and the prolificacy with which they are produced (not to mention their slightly British inflected tunefulness), reminds one of DIY saint Robert Pollard. But Dean's output is nowhere near as spotty as ol' Bob's was. Playing each and every instrument by himself, all of the Capstan Shafts' songs possess an immediately engaging, muscular pop craft. While a comprehensive review of his discography is pretty much impossible, here's are a few assorted gems. Listen to all of them. It'll take you, like, 6 minutes.
the Capstan Shafts - "61 Sideburns"
The song that charmed me initially, and a sure thing Dylan-runner up once Numerology hits 61. "We lived in the last genuine time..." it maintains, creating a convicted premature nostalgia for a present day that otherwise seems pretty damn fake.
the Capstan Shafts - "Magical Dance Number Scene"
Though his compositions fall in an ever-changing yet similar range of bite-size power-pop, Wells' darkly comic lyrics can cycle through a diverse series of tones is seconds flat. Take this killer creepout; "All my fragile dreams defiled/ yes, I see that she's with child/ yeah, I noticed this a while ago/ still, I want to nail her, like a routine/ used in some magical dance number scene/ waa-ooooo." You go from gently deflated to deeply disturbing, and then back to bawdily amusing in less than thirty seconds. The songs don't need to extend, because their time allotted is so richly filled.
the Capstan Shafts - "American Volume"
Living up to the titular noise, Dean brings the rawk here, with choppy riffs "charming the daylight out of the sky." But just because his amp is pushed up to 11 doesn't mean that clever turns of phrase are neglected. "I'll never turn you down," carries an elegant double meaning.
the Capstan Shafts - "Eyeliner/Skywriting, etc."
Often, the songs are such obviously engaging bursts that you don't even know what to say about them. It starts, is charming, and ends before you have much of a chance to process. Then there's another, and then another twenty more. Next month, another album appears. The Giving Tree of indie rock.
the Capstan Shafts - "Old Skull, New Mexico"
Maybe the remarkable thing about these home recordings is that Dean manages to sound organically like a living, breathing full band all by his lonesome. In this track from 2006's The Megafauna Undermined manages to sound like a slightly-soused Texas bar band to boot.
the Capstan Shafts - "The Trilateralist Told You Not To"
In which Dean works a reference to "antisocial Darwinists" (great name for a punk band by the way) into a Kinks-ian, silly tone + romantic guitar lines, stunner.
the Capstan Shafts - "A Heart That Never Flies"
As if Jeff Mangum hadn't taken a full sheet of blotter acid before putting pen to Neutral Milk Hotel lyrics notebook.
--
The Capstan Shafts output has mainly been released on CD-Rs scattered by the winds and released in puny batches on various tiny labels. It's the sort of awe-inspiring body of work that would likely have found a cult audience at some point in the not-too-distant future, no matter what, but interest spiked last year when Pitchfork published this rave about a handful of the albums. Writer Matt LeMay was forced to quiver, "How can this be so good?" Despite the grace of the tastemaking elite, Dean has been reluctant to leave home and hearth. He's played only a handful of live shows ever, and all of them occurred within the borders of Vermont. Below is footage from the inaugural gig last year, in a candle-lit rural Vermont church, no less:
the Capstan Shafts - "Sleepcure Theory Advancer"
(live in Stannard Church, Stannard, Vermont, 10.06.2007)
But now, perhaps partly in gratitude for LeMay's patronage, the Capstan Shafts are venturing to New York to open for Matt's band Get Him Eat Him at the Knitting Factory tomorrow. Never one to miss such a golden opportunity, I've convinced him to make his Brooklyn debut at Neon Lights' show at Glasslands this Friday. Though the bill offers further charms, it's basically the reason I put the whole thing together. The presence of at least one band mate will allow songs like the one below to maintain their formidable rhythmic thump.
the Capstan Shafts - "Boy to Get You Nowhere"
"Would you call it somewhere if we left the state?" it asks. Yeah, Dean, we would. See you Friday.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at August 27, 2008 12:20 PM
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Comments
I love it. I don't know what it is about extremely short songs that I love so much. Perhaps it's because they pretty much always leave you begging for more. Case in point Maggie May by the Beatles or any of the fingertips songs by They Might Be Giants.
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Posted by: subservient experiment at August 27, 2008 02:07 PM
Great write-up!
Dean did actually play once in NYC, during last year's CMJ Festival.
The Knitting Factory show will be, to the best of my knowledge, the first since then where he will be backed by a full band; in this case, myself on drums, other guys from Get Him Eat Him on guitars, and our friend Danny on bass. We've put together a 15-song (which is to say, like, 10-minute) setlist, hopefully a good balance of "hits" and relative rarities.
Hope to see you there!
Posted by: Matt at August 27, 2008 02:59 PM
The man has a lovely set of pipes. Looking forward to hearing him on Friday.
Posted by: david at August 27, 2008 03:16 PM
Hey Matt, thanks for the corrective. What I get for trusting wikipedia, I suppose.
Posted by: Jeff K at August 27, 2008 05:03 PM
please bootleg the show, guys! soundboard!
Posted by: dan at August 27, 2008 06:27 PM
i forgot to mention, nice song selection, but they don't even come close to conveying the full weight of this guy's genius catalog of songs.
Posted by: dan at August 27, 2008 06:30 PM
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