Captain, We’re Sinking – The Future Has Been Cancelled

Whether due to their prior label affiliation or in part due to my prejudiced reception of their heavily punctuated namesake, I’ve criminally overlooked Scranton PA’s Captain, We’re Sinking.  It hasn’t been until this very moment that I’ve discovered that the band is not a headstrong screamo act or squirrely pop-punk parade.  Instead, they’re one of the freshest takes on emotional post-punk this side of Manchester Orchestra.  And while I’ve missed the earliest reaches of their career, there could be no better introduction point than with their sophomore full length, The Future Has Been Cancelled.

Captain, We’re Sinking is Say Anything on steroids minus Max Bemis’ egocentrism.  Instead of being a one man stage show under a single spotlight, The Future Has Been Cancelled collects and illuminates the periled voices of those whom typically keep their lips shut and suffer behind closed doors.  What’s more, they articulate the experience of others with sensitivity and respect.  These aren’t your little brother’s juvenile breakup songs; they are true statements as to the depths of the human condition.

The result is an album that creates songs around the stories they tell.  Where most bands write songs in their band’s style, Captain, We’re Sinking adjust their approach to suit their content on a track-by-track basis.  One of their most successful tricks surfaces on two songs in particular, “Montreal” and “A Bitter Divorce,” where the band selectively employs a double narration style featuring synchronized male and female vocals. “A Bitter Divorce” rolls out the same double harmony, effectively painting a picture of the shared blame inherent in falling out of love.  In the former, Bobby Barnett takes the lead from the perspective of traditional narration. “Beauty queen teens all stand in line to be beaten, by hot headed guys that are too afraid they may leave them,” sings Barnett as he sets the scene for a single mother and her child battered from abusive partners.  As the imagery quickly deteriorates into a scene of a couch hopping daily struggle, the innocent voice of a young girl pipes up into the sound of life at its most vulnerable: “Have you seen my life, it’s like I don’t even try.”  Such a sweet, articulate voice reaching out for affirmation transforms the notion of passive victim into active participant in their life story.

The story telling is so rich that each character becomes more lifelike with every listen.  Take the overwhelming paranoia of “Adultery.”  While most bands reference events after the fact, Captain, We’re Sinking focuses on the cognitive process of decision making rather than the results.  Accompanied by the scattered burst of instrumental discord, life’s messy moments materialize and fester from the strength of their imperfections.  Songs about suicide like “Annina, We Will Miss You” force listeners into the mind of the mentally ill, whereas those like “More Tequila, Less Joe” pull listeners into the quiet, downward spiral of thoughts we are all susceptible to.

It isn’t often that a band writes an album in which the music flawlessly mirrors every accompanying feeling; that’s where Captain, We’re Sinking distances themselves from the pack and rises above even the leading emotional songsmiths out there.  Unlike bands like The Saddest Landscape where flaring emotions are prerequisite, The Future Has Been Cancelled feels like a series of lucid, real life stories that simply could not be told any other medium.  While I’m still red faced for having dismissed Captain, We’re Sinking in the past, nothing will stop me from trumpeting their achievements from here on out.  One of this year’s undeniable highlights.