Ethan Durelle - The Capgun Sessions

Christopher Rose [Freelance Writer]; Age: 18; Top 5 bands: Damien Jurado, Suffering and the Hidious Thieves, Hank Williams, Zao, Starflyer 59. Musical Preferences: I really like diversity. My musical tastes change daily, but I really like a lot of indie rock, shoegazer, folk, hardcore, and pretty much everything good.

Remember that one episode of Pete and Pete? It’s the one where younger Pete runs the pirate radio station out of his basement, but he refuses to play any music. In fact, he despises music and yells at any callers requesting a hit. One day, though, as he is walking to middle school, Pete hears an absolutely amazing song from a garage band practicing in a neighboring yard. It becomes an addiction to him, and the tune becomes infested in his mind for days. For me, Ethan Durelle is kind of like that band on Nick in the Afternoon. I never hated music, though, as I have always been getting my hands and ears on everything I possibly could. But Ethan Durelle is just a band that I connected with. Their music is always fresh. They are melodic, indie, intense, catchy, and a host of other complementing adjectives, but most of all, they are real.

It is comforting to know that occasionally bands still exist that are composed of actual musicians-the creative types that fuse their individual influences and experiences into one collective whole known as original music. Ethan Durelle holds true to these convictions-they demonstrate the perfect blend of recognizable indie rock, emotion-driven honesty, and raw talent to form outstanding compositions. The Capgun Sessions EP provides only mere glimpse of what the Ethan Durelle is potentially capable of, as the three songs therein contain the endurance of Karate, the creativity of The Sea and Cake, and the beauty of Sunny Day Real Estate all in only 18 minutes.

An Ethan Durelle song is formatted very similar to the style of a movie or play. The first half is all just setting up, rising action. Then, spectacularly, the climax is hit at about the sixth minute or two thirds of the way through, and afterwards a concise resolution draws the listener and song to a close-so delicately structured that the structure is not noticed, just the afterglow of an incredible experience.

The only drawback to Capgun Sessions is its lack of professional production, but perhaps that is its largest asset too. That is why many are drawn to antiques. Antique furniture is older, rugged, and more original than a Sears brand coffee table. The same is true with production in that a lot of bands, like The Appleseed Cast and that whole ‘garage rock’ phenomenon staple themselves on a lack of production. Therefore the ‘raw’ sound induced in this short but solid EP can be viewed as artistic, enticing, and preferable to large staff of Sony engineers. Also, since it is the Ethan Durelle’s first release, some slack should be given to a young band that raises the artistic standard for many veteran groups.

Grade: A-