A dozen years into their career, Massachusetts post-rock stalwarts Caspian are finally speaking up. Literally – Dust and Disquiet, their fourth studio album, contains the band’s first ever song to feature vocals, the disarmingly acoustic ‘Run Dry.’
“[Guitarists] Calvin [Joss] and Philip [Jamieson] sent a demo of it to the rest of us saying they had always wanted to get a song like this down on record,” drummer Joe Vickers explains. “We all agreed that it was appropriate to feature discernible vocals because, as a band, we finally had something to say.”
Say something they did, and audiences are listening. Caspian are already reaping the fruits of Dust and Disquiet’s success, their followup to Waking Season, Spin’s 2012 post-rock album of the year. Vickers fondly recalls a recent hometown show, for example, “where the letters on the marquee spelled ‘Welcome Home Caspian.’”
Hopeful that Caspian will continue to explore new paths of creativity, Vickers says the addition of vocals wasn’t necessarily a goal from the get-go – the group’s creative process remains a mystery even to them.
“Regardless of our intention when we started, every album seems to come together in its own way, which is exciting for us,” he explains. “It’s like a Ouija board, but a little less spooky. The planchette moves on its own across the board, loosely guided by the players, and the message is revealed when you finally see the last letter.”
Written and recorded over a year, Dust and Disquiet marks several other firsts for the group. It’s their first disc as a six-piece, as well as the first to feature contributions from guitarist Jonny Ashburn and bassist Jani Zubkovs.
The result is an album that captures the band as they are: constantly evolving. And its this evolution that they’ll share with fans in China when they stop off at MAO Livehouse on March 4. Yet this is far from their maiden voyage. When the group first came to China in 2010, they performed in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. For their 2014 China tour, they traveled to five cities. And this year’s New Noise-organized jaunt will be their most extensive yet, with eight dates.
Vickers jokes that “our decision to do more cities this time around is because the food is so good, we want to try it everywhere,” before noting seriously that “we really enjoy our times in China and look forward to meeting new fans in new cities.”
The jam-packed tour schedule fits the band’s high-paced work ethic. While they have a short rest following the China tour, Vickers promises they’ll be back on the road soon after.
"There are many people in the world who would really enjoy the album who have not heard it yet,” he notes. “It’s always exciting to hear new and varied reactions.”
For the band, it’s a time to look forward. But Vickers also takes a moment to look back. Reflecting on Caspian’s career, he says: “our idea of fun in the early days was just getting together with our instruments and jamming out for a few hours. Now we’ve found fun in the artistic challenges. “The more we learn about music shows us how much we still have to learn."
Caspian 2016 China Tour
> Shenzhen: Feb 26, 9pm, RMB80-100. B10 Live, tickets.
> Guangzhou: Feb 27, 9pm, RMB80-100. Fei Livehouse, tickets.
> Wuhan: Feb 28, 9pm, RMB80-100. Vox, tickets
> Chongqing: Mar 1, 9pm, RMB80-100. Nuts, tickets.
> Chengdu: Mar 2, 9pm, RMB80-100. Little Bar, tickets.
> Hangzhou: Mar 3, 9pm, RMB80-100. 9 Live, tickets.
> Shanghai: Mar 4, 9pm, RMB120-140. MAO Livehouse, tickets. (w/21 Grams)
> Beijing: Mar 5, 9pm, RMB120-140. Yugong Yishan, tickets. (w/Glow Curve)
0 User Comments