Captain Kaiser are back with a new single “Roadkill” and a new album “Belgian Boy” due on 10 October via [PIAS] Recordings.
In eight years, Captain Kaiser has become one of Belgium’s leading punk bands. Still proudly rooted in the Kempen region, their sound equally nods to the undiluted emotion of High Vis and the open-mindedness of Viagra Boys. For frontman Sascha Vansant’s band, punk is not a sound, but an attitude: anything goes, as long as it’s loud and real.
Their new, fourth album “Belgian Boy” released on 10th October is another step forward: even more real, even more accomplished, with even more room for new and unhinged sounds. The logical next step, after the giant leap they took two years ago with “RHYME&REASON”, a chunk of blood-curdling post-punk with which Vansant processed the death of his mother. The band also made a big step forward on stage. “RHYME&REASON” took them to Pukkelpop, Jera-On-Air, sold out club shows in Belgium and Holland and their first shows in the UK.
On “Belgian Boy” there’s more room for light. It’s clear from the moment the chorus sets in on first single “Roadkill”. Vansant leads us around his own head, stopping in a place where his thoughts collide until it hurts. ‘But when I’m driving in this traffic jam inside my brain / I feel I’m getting scared again,’ he sings. The barren dressing of the verses allows the chorus to erupt even more violently. It’s a killer single!
“Belgian Boy” was recorded at Ocean Sound in Giske, Norway, a place where Arcade Fire and Sigrid, among others, have recorded. Record label [PIAS] stayed on board, as did “RHYME&REASON” producer Jay Maas (Defeater). Guitarist Maarten Van Dam passed on the pick in friendship to Quinten Pas (Spare Kid).
Listen to ‘Roadkill’ here: https://captainkaiser.ffm.to/roadkill
