Das Kapital – Denying the West / 2005 Johann’s Face / 10 Tracks /http://www.daskapital.us / http://www.johannsface.com / Reviewed 03 December 2005

Das Kapital really have a confusing album cover in regards to the music that they play. Specifically, the very indie-rock looking cover hides a brand of pop-punk in the vein of (incredibly) early Green Day or Descendents. Each of the tracks speeds to its inevitable conclusion, and songs like “Set Adrift Again” even looks to Irish-punk for inspiration. This is even made more impressive considering the loudness of the track recalls backs like the Replacements; the vocals present on the track scream a beautiful mix of Dropkick Murphies and the Ramones. Simplistic repetition works well for Das Kapital, as this cornerstone of solid punk rock really is done right by the band.

Other tracks on “Denying The West” moves Das Kapital from purely being a band in the punk style; “Old Blue” actually has a twinge of psychedelic rock to it that was previously not heard on the disc. Further tracks like the title one come through with a Kinks/Knack like sound that is updated by the inclusion with R.E.M.-like fuzz and an almost-gothic brand of vocals. Each of the tracks on Denying The West” are radio-friendly, but stray away from the general pop band’s view of music and come forth with music that even the most picky and snobbish music aficionado can appreciate. “St. Raphael and the Sodomite” moves Das Kapital back into a little of the punk-infused sound that started off “Denying the West”, while “Chains on the Hellespont” is a hooky track that brings Das Kapital back into the days of seventies rock.

The amount of different styles that Das Kapital bring forth on this disc is nothing more than impressive, and where Das Kapital draws their strength is in tying together all of these disparate genres into a cohesive brand of rock. Only twenty-nine minutes pass from the beginning to the end of “Denying the West”, yet this is enough for Das Kapital to touch all the conceivable bases they can. Hell, the ultimate track on the disc (“The Tenacity of Rope”) has Pink Floyd in mind more than any other act; the progressive-ish rock the band panders is as far removed from anything else they have placed on “Denying The West”, and yet it works perfectly. Two years shouldn’t be enough time to sound this yet, yet that is how long Das Kapital has been around; no doubt, there is some experience that the members bring to the band, but no experience could translate into the innovation that Das Kapital does here.

Top Tracks: Arise and Rise!, Chains on the Hellespont

Rating: 6.1/10

[JMcQ]