Cap’n Jazz: “Analphabetapolothology” (Album Review)

Genres: Midwest Emo, Post-Hardcore Post-Hardcore, Math Rock

        Analphabetapolothology by Cap’n Jazz compiles nearly every track from the band’s history, resulting in a bloated mess. Against all odds, this isn’t the album’s debilitating Achilles’ heel, but could even be called a selling point. Cap’n Jazz was an abrasive and rough band, qualities that can clearly be seen across Analphabetapolothology. 

        To become fully immersed in Cap’n Jazz’s music, you have to accept their playful absurdity. Many songs feature unintelligible screaming and nonsensical lyrics. Instead of looking past this, there has to be an enjoyment of this chaos, which comes from seeing how emotionally articulate the music is through all the wildness. The three-track run from “Little League” to “Puddle Splashers” is one of music’s best, evoking feelings of youth and childhood lyrically, but also just generally being fun songs to listen to. Analphabetapolothology is the perfect mix of passion and freedom, which makes for a surprisingly strong artistic statement on a compilation album.

        The wild nature of Cap’n Jazz’s music and Analphabetapolothology as an album makes for some varying moments of highs and lows. “Bluegrassish” is a track that was originally a follow-up to “Bluegrass”, but because of this compilation’s sequencing, it is the song that’s heard first. “Bluegrass” is easily one of the weakest songs on the album, featuring none of the exciting extravagances of the other tracks, and leading up to no impact. Conversely, “Bluegrass” is one of the best songs on the album, with an exaggerated and grandiose vocal performance. The sequencing of having “Bluegrassish” before “Bluegrass” ends up working incredibly well, as the former felt like a sneak peek that the latter built upon. This is just an example of how influential the insanity of this record is in regards to the end product.

        This anthology album puts into perspective how unrelenting Cap’n Jazz were. Playing with a consistent level of ferocity and a refreshing air of lightheartedness, it’s no wonder why they were able to grow a cult following. The messy and chaotic structure of the album leads to some feelings of blandness going from song to song, and there is definitely filler that could have been cut-if Analphabetapolothology wasn’t a chronicle of Cap’n Jazz’s work. All in all, this record is a piece that serves to entertain and does so fantastically. Although this extreme focus has left other desirable qualities almost untouched, it’s hard to argue that Analphabetapolothology could have been a more exciting and amusing album.

Favorite Tracks: Puddle Splashers, Oh Messy Life, Rocky Rocco, Little League, Bluegrass, Olerud, Basil’s Kite, Theme to 90210, Forget Who We Are, Yes I Am Talking To You, Sea Tea, AOK, Segio Valentine

Least Favorites: Winter Wonderland, Bluegrassish,

Enjoyment: Mid 9

Critically: High 8

Arbitrary Number: 8.9/10