Beautiful Ugly
MRR, 2024
9/10
The UK artist Captain Of The Lost Waves was involved in a devastating car accident when a stolen vehicle fleeing from the police hit him and his family, and the difficult recovery and trauma of the experience was the impetus for these 9 diverse tracks.
“Obsidian Whispers” opens with much beauty, where Captain’s expressive voice and mesmerizing guitar welcome Wendy Ross’ lovely violin for the gentleness, and “Dirty Windows” follows with Damian Clark’s radiant keys suiting Captain’s poetic pipes.
“Gothic Balladeer” and “Older” reside in the middle. The former carries a cinematic quality via the eloquent storytelling, while the latter pays close attention to mood thanks to the dreamy backdrop and introspective singing of the album’s best.
Near the end, “Neighbourhood” tugs on the heartstrings and is populated by gorgeous singing and mature keys, and “Beautiful Ugly” exits with a haziness and strong wordplay that emits much melody and timelessness.
Somewhere between indie-folk, orchestral-pop and prog-rock, Captain turns tragedy into great art that resonates long after the music stops.
Travels well with: Gabriel Keller- Hope Despite Everything; Long Earth- An Ordinary Life