Capital Cities - Solarize (Album Review + Rankings)

The state of indie pop music this decade is primary electronic. Oftentimes, it can be indistinguishable from pop music (think The Naked And Famous compared to Charli XCX, or Børns compared to Lorde). With such little difference it is hard to define indie pop as a genre. At this point it is effectively synthpop or alternative pop. In the case of Capital Cities, they are their own brand of music. They make indie pop like noone else but it never quite becomes full on pop and (unless you're counting a certain aweful collaboration) all the songs on this new album sound fresh, individual and are definite Capital Cities songs.

They released their Swimming Pool Summer EP last July and all 5 songs on that have made it onto here quite fortunately as most of those songs were very very good. I suppose the lead single to the album is "Vowels", a song released back in 2016. I find this disappointing considering how basic the chorus is. I'm not the only one tired of the millennial whoop in modern music but apparently Capital Cities are not.

The highlights of this album are the fantastic hooks in every single song and flawless production throughout. A perfect example of this is in "Drifting" which has some of the best flow and progressions on this album. "Drop Everything" and "Just Say When" are other really good examples of Capital Cities getting it right on this album.

Unfortunately the song "Girl Friday" is not a highlight of the album. It sounds like it's trying too hard for mainstream success and the version with Rick Ross is proof of that. The instrumentation on this song is typical and dull; additionally, the lyrics are dreadfully cringe-inducing and hard to find irritating.

This album deals with some fun themes such as gods and space, both of these being most evident on the respective singles "My Name Is Mars" and "Space". Whilst these two songs are mediocre on the album and not highlights, they're both a fun listen and not redundant like the single "Levitate". This is a song I find to be at best tolerable but pointless, at worst annoying and fruitless.

Smooth production and progressional flow are showcased expertly on the aforementioned "Just Say When" and the ballads "Only If You Want It" and "Good Enough". The best production and flow goes to "Gatekeeper Julie", a seriously funny song with exceptional electronic instrumentation. Truly this is phenomenal synthpop, the likes of which rival Chvrches' Every Open Eye. Its innovative lyrics seem to be revolving around the idea of popularity and the radio.

Overall I find this album a very good and individual experience with strong songs backed by many hooks and catchy choruses. Given that this is the duo's second album I would expect to see more development and growth from their debut, especially since that was released four years ago now. Unfortunately the lyrics and instrumentation has on the whole got worse but the production and catchiness has improved. I do wish some of these songs had a lot more attention and perhaps regular rotation could help that but the radio really hasn't picked them up.

Despite some negatives, most of which were disappointing factors rather than truly bad ones, I have decided to give this a 7 out of 10. I feel if they decreased the number of songs on the album and focused more on lyrics like they once did they could make a masterpiece.

Best Songs:
Swimming Pool Summer, Venus & River, Drop Everything, Just Say When, Gatekeeper Julie, Drifting, Sunburn Surrender

Worst Songs:
Levitate, Girl Friday

To improve the tracklist:
Swimming Pool Summer
My Name Is Mars
Venus & River
Drop Everything
Just Say When
Gatekeeper Julie
Only If You Want It
Drifting
Sunburn Surrender
Good Enough

Songs ranked from worst to best:
16. Girl Friday
15. Levitate
14. Girl Friday (w Rick Ross)
13. Vowels
12. Space
11. Swimming Pool Summer (THCSRS Remix)
10. My Name Is Mars
9. Only If You Want It
8. Good Enough
7. Venus & River
6. Sunburn Surrender
5. Swimming Pool Summer
4. Just Say When
3. Drop Everything
2. Gatekeeper Julie
1. Drifting