Captain Frittata is the band name of South London, UK’s Dom Shaw. He admits that though he’s been creating music as long as he can remember, he hasn’t had many “accomplishments” to date, and in fact never intended these songs to be released. But Shaw became totally immersed in recording and production, and What You Get is what we all get as “the first formed piece that I have finished.”
Thematically, Shaw says he “always wanted to create an album that becomes greater than the sum of its parts. It's a theme to all of my favorite records and I've tried to capture a range of feelings to display depth. It's primal at points and it's vulnerable at others. Musically, it's heavily rooted in rock, alternative and lo-fi.” Shaw says he uses the name Captain Frittata as a conduit for “emotional release through music.” Shaw plays pretty much everything except drums (credited to Cam Steele and Alex Holt) and harp (Rebecca Hordern). He recorded on Pro Tools in his own house and a friend’s basement. For me, the Captain Frittata songs show an abundance of creativity and musical chops, without the technical side having yet caught up. The tracks are listenable, but with more seasoning and experience, they could be much better. That said, if I’d made this album in my 20’s, I would have gladly played it for my friends with the assistance of a stinky bong. “header” immediately establishes the experimental and somewhat lo-fi nature of Shaw’s music. A one-minute overture, it sounds like Hawaiian music encased in a capsule floating through space. This short track then leads directly into the longest song at almost ten minutes “In Peace / Martha.” It begins in proggy fashion with trebly picked electric guitars and a vulnerable, sonically pinched vocal by Shaw. Like a rock opera by The Who, the song erupts into an exultant full-band chorus with all the instruments swimming in reverb. Captain Frittata’s sound is far from slick, without apparent use of a click track, though the haphazard beat adds to the charm. After slowing down again, the track kicks into fast driving rock with cool slamming guitars and - surprisingly - what sounds like a processed saxophone solo. Shaw has pages of vocals to declaim, and he manages to get them all in. But that’s not all: the final two minutes feel like a different, more dynamic prog-rock construction, which just kind of stops when Shaw feels like it. The title track “What You Get” continues the unique Frittata sound with a pad of bizarre voice samples on endless loop behind Shaw’s mellow folky singing and strumming. Without as much clutter, I noticed for the first time that Shaw actually has a pretty nice singing voice, both for lead vocals and harmonies. The production is again kind of spiky, sounding a bit like raw, unmixed Beatle bootlegs. “Mortality” has an acoustic guitar and vocal seemingly taped from another room, like a demo for what could be a really good song. “Golden Bear” is another short but nicely composed tune with an interesting arrangement. “24HR” has an eerie, sleepwalking Pink Floyd quality with low rumbles and indeterminate voice samples. “In The Detail” jumps out of nowhere as the diamond of the bunch. A chunky pop rock gem in the tradition of ’60s psychedelic bands or even Bowie and Sebadoh, it features killer hooks, excellent British-accented vocals and an irresistible beat. Though a bit over saturated like the other tunes, the songwriting magic here can’t be dismissed. “Within” is another cool tune with ever-changing arrangements and many layers of instruments, including more saxophone overdubs. A funny quirk of Shaw’s music is that he often includes extraneous dialogue within his songs, along with off-mic comments; this is at least the third song to do so. “…and Without” features Steve Hackett-like acoustic picking and intricately muted drum patterns. There’s even a whistling solo! “Unknown” concludes the album with another lyrics-heavy epic with prominent drums, bass and synths. When the fuzz guitars appear, it becomes quite the teeming package. Shaw doesn’t print his lyrics, but here’s a sample of his stream of consciousness style: “I’m asking you to forget everything, to take the jump, to go somewhere that you would never ever ever be / and let the sunset take care of all the logistics while the credits roll out all the inconsistencies / Fuck responsibilities, come take a ride with me!” A more than perfect psychedelic conclusion, though once again there’s barely sonic room for everything Shaw wants to play. If I were to offer Shaw any advice - and who the hell am I? - it would be to record his instruments as cleanly as possible, experiment with different mixes and only then add processing and effects judiciously. But that’s the kind of thing experience teaches you, and I have no doubt Shaw’s future projects will show even more growth while retaining his already unique musical sensibilities.
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