This is it, Boston! The one you’ve been waiting for is here! It’s the ultimate summer soundtrack, the best unreleased Emo Pop album of the late ’90’s/early ’00’s and also a timeless hybrid Alternative anthem factory all rolled into one. We’re, OF COURSE, talking about the debut LP from North Shore quartet Cape Crush called Place Memory which is out NOW!
On the one hand, we could’ve covered every single, ahem, single that’s been released so far (4 in total) ahead of Place Memory and then lazily referenced all those word collections with links…. or we could cover a lone single (“Calm & Delivered”! Read more here! But we’ll cover again below!) and bide our time waiting to drop the whole review instead. Guess which way we went? Oh, c’mon now! We obviously went the non-lazy route…
Anyway! As we mentioned, Place Memory is easily one of the most anticipated releases of the year ’round these parts and a phenomenal representation of Emo Pop-Punk that’s a throwback for fans who grew up/are familiar with the original ’90’s boom or simply something completely fresh for those not familiar with Jimmy and their World Eating habits, Kids that wanted to Get Up or Trio’s of the Alkaline variety.
“I Don’t Care About Anything” is a ripper but in an emotive way, rising like the sun on the horizon with a burgeoning wall of noise before Ali Lipman’s voice accents the mood like a hymn ushered down from a higher power (And on the 8th day, the Lord gave us Cape Crush…) with “Calm & Delivered” coming out of all that like a wrecking ball and solidifying our perfect album theory (See countless previous posts) where the second song needs to be bigger, catchier and, ultimately, more memorable than the first.
The title track is built off some razor sharp riffin’ from guitarists Lipman and James Christopher with Jake Letizia and Miles O’Toole’s bass and drums respectively laying out these catchy ass rhythm’s as “Come Shed Your Light On Me” sounds as if it should already be a song somewhere. If the timeless nature of the title doesn’t get you then maybe the timeless nature of the track itself will do the trick with this particular one blurring the lines of Pop, Emo, and Alternative to name a few genres represented here.
“Train In Motion” glistens between blasts of powerful guitar licks with a grand chorus and then “Bolt-On Economy Light Switch” starts off with Lipman’s tender words before another bout of fab(ulous) comes in the form of Letizia, Christopher, Lipman and O’Toole’s intricate instrumentals leading into one of the BEST choruses on here which says something since the record is filled with ’em!
“North Street” shifts effortlessly into another genre entirely with airs of newer Noah Kahan poking through the Cape Crush song structure (Hey, The Great Divide: The Last Of The Bugs is GREAT!) until “Also-Ran” unloads the Emo truck once again on this steadily stomping ditty that delivers yet another magical sing-a-long melody. “Dotted Line” treads the Americana line but also has hints of Sunny Day Real Estate in its’ framework with “I Care Too Much About Everything” bringing another round of deja vu because of the general sense of familiarity Cape Crush songs cause due to their enduring nature. Like this one. That’s got those nifty Jimmy Eat World-like closing vibes (An abbreviated version of Clarity‘s “Goodbye Sky Harbor” comes to mind) and all these intricate yet intimate intertwining of all the instruments to finish Place Memory in the most brilliant and clever way possible.
Place Memory is out now through Wanna Hear It Records and you can find your copy here, here or at the stream below. Cape Crush will be taking part in a special acoustic show at Wanna Hear It Records to celebrate the release on May 2nd at 2PM and you can find out about that, as well as what else Cape Crush is up to by following the socials located here.