Search - Buffalo Daughter :: Captain Vapour Athletes (Bonus CD)

Captain Vapour Athletes is a gourmet fest of new sounds

10/15/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is simply some of the best stuff I have heard in a long time. It is hard to make comparisons. "Silver Turkey" will make you reconsider your favorite loud, energetic song. "Cold Summer" has vocal effects that make the song linger in your head. A beautiful collage of sounds and styles all around. Highly recommended. If you are lucky, you can catch them live - their shows are pretty amazing. I am still amazed at the talent these young Japanese women posess!"

Almost a "Captain"

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 10/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Buffalo Daughter is probably the least conventional rock band that still has appeal -- like taking an acid trip through a DJ's turntable. And that applies even more so to "Captain Vapour Athletes," their wildly hypnotic (and wildly uneven) avante-rock debut.



Experimentation is heavy in this album -- it opens with the sonic twiddle "Counter Parrot," later follows up with drum pitter-patter "Vampeeee," and reaches its weirdness climax with "Dr. Moooog," with its spaceship sound effects. Buffalo Daughter aren't afraid to simply sprinkle in stuff that has nothing do with music, and somehow these fit the album. But there are also songs like "Silver Turkey" (reportedly about buses), catchy "California Blues," and the sprawling, bizarre epic of "LI303VE."



Basically, "Captain Vapour Athletes" is a potent mixture of random, sometimes pointless sounds, and mind-blowing electro-rock songs. It's far less conventional than their second album "New Rock," and not too engaging. But it's also weirdly hypnotic -- it's hard to stop listening, because who knows what sonic flourishes could be missed if you do?



Instrumentation is where Buffalo Daughter rarely goes wrong. Some loud rock guitars spurt in and out, and Sugar Yoshinaga takes center stage in songs like "Silver Turkey." Keyboards often push the guitars out of the way, layered and adding a strangely spacey sound as Moog Yamamoto does his magic. Then there are heavy basslines, weird sound effects (is that a parrot?) and turntable madness.



"Captain Vapour Athletes" is a growing pain -- Buffalo Daughter was still experimenting, still growing into their sound. It's a curiously engaging exercise, but not the best they have done."

Simply put,...

semiconscious | portland, or United States | 05/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the single-most under-appreciated band on the planet...you go, girls! :) ..."