Captain - This is Hazelville

This is Hazelville' is full of good songs - but the professionalism of Captain has a dulling effect

Album Review by Nick Mitchell | 13 Sep 2006
Album title: This is Hazelville
Artist: Captain
Label: EMI
In the overcrowded, uninspiring stramash that is the current indie scene, there is that growing tendency, much maligned by critics, of sacrificing song for style in the bid to stand out from the crowd. Captain are one band who cannot stand accused of this charge. All – yes, all – eleven songs on their debut album 'This is Hazelville' are accomplished examples of pop composition, even if they do vary in effect. There is always some interesting hook, harmony, or variation to keep those Keane comparisons at bay, from the slightly kitsch yet catchy refrain of the single Glorious to the adrenalin rush that is This Heart Keeps Beating For Me. But, and this is a big 'but': their major label credentials and sugar-coated production may discourage the slavish cool of music lovers, and Captain's lack of bite may just have you agreeing with them. [Nick Mitchell]
This is Hazelville' is out on August 14. http://www.captaintheband.com/