Artist: Black Hoodie Ensemble
Album: Captain
Genre: Post-Rock, Atmosphere, Gothic Rock
Country: Texas, USA
Release date: 4th September 2020
Released via Quarter Turn Records
Sometimes, announcing something new after a bunch of (successful) albums doesn’t end well. Linkin Park is my favourite example for this, eventually having finished for me after Minutes to Midnight, they only released stuff I can’t find a way into. Some bands have their style since the beginning without great changes, for example AC/DC. To be fair, I like some songs from that band and some albums are great, but when you look at their song history, the newer songs still sound like the old ones. Their new song proves that.
On the other hand, though, that’s nothing I could say about the Black Hoodie Ensemble. First of all, because Captain is just their second album and at this stage such an accusation would not be acceptable. Secondly, this thought only occurred to me while listening to the album, as these seven songs are exactly the opposite of my reproach. The only thing I can say that is a kind of common theme throughout the album is a dark and sort of psychedelic overtone.
All seven songs differ a lot from one another, but still have a connection because of the common theme. A faster and more funky “Red Lights” in comparison to a way darker and sadder “The Taker”. On “Bathroom Fight Song”, which is an awesome song title, the background bass and drums sound a like a cheesy Caribbean party and I think in a non-English-speaking party, the people wouldn’t get it if “fuck” wouldn’t say it all along. Overall, I can say that the riffs and guitar playing are really good, I liked it very much and you can discover new variations in a rerun you might have overheard on your first trip through the album.
Captain is a very well-produced darker Rock album with a lot of creative ideas, some surprises, yet continously serious. And I say again, there are some bands that are less innovative over a complete series of albums than the Black Hoodie Ensemble within these seven songs.
8/10
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