Band: Joey Cape
Album: Bridge
Genre: Folk/Punk
Label: Suburban Home

Tracks:
1. Errands
2. We’re Not In Love Anymore
3. B-Side
4. Who We’ve Become
5. Memoirs and Landmines
6. The Ramones are Dead
7. No Little Pill
8. Mission Unaccomplished
9. Non Sequitur
10. Gun It. No, Don’t
11. Home

Joey Cape, of Lagwagon fame, recently released his first solo album, Bridge, in October. Many fans of the popular punk band may not know what to make of this folk turn, but it is surely something that should be heard. It’s hard to explain any reasoning behind the recent rash of punk leaders turning acoustic, but hopefully this one continues the hot streak of recent crossovers like Dallas of Alexisonfire and Dustin of Thrice.

From the get-go, Cape bursts through with stunning production quality. Everything is crisp, clean, and entrancing. The flow of sound from left to right is utilized gorgeously and the vocals use just the right amount of reverb to seem large, but not larger than life. All signs of Lagwagon are nowhere to be seen early on in the album, but there are moments of lyrical genius the echo the punk band Cape comes from. Tracks like, “Errands,” the kickoff to the disc, nearly resonate the band America in form of structure and flow. It’s like a modern throwback without ever feeling dated. Cape brings a unique sound with near spanish influences at times that really flows and sounds simply great.

Personally,” “B-Side,” is something I think you all need to hear.It capsulates a lot of Cape’s style and sound in one solid track that has everlasting replay value. The idea of living outside the box and singing your own song [get the b-side reference].  Outside of this, “Mission Unaccomplished,” manages to accomplish a lot in terms of making the listening smile. It begins sounding very obviously out of the West, but then evolves into the all encompassing sound. Cape’s voice has more of a quiver then you find in other places, but still it strikes you hard. To me, these two tracks just never cease to impress.

In the end, we have yet another crossover attempt, only this one is slightly less appealing in the longhaul. Where Green ad Kensrue write songs that beg to be heard a hundred times, there are chunks of Bridge I could have done without. Personally, I think Cape needs to cut a few more tracks next time around. I’d rather have 9 amazing songs, than any filler and that’s what happened here. However, for what it’s worth, Bridge is worth at least a moment of your time. Maybe it’ll strike you a bit more, or maybe not, but you should still give it a listen.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
Grade: 6.5/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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