There’s something about a feeling left unsaid. The unrequited gesture, the promise for something gone unfulfilled. It’s the discovery of a never-heard voicemail from a loved one that’s passed away or the letters that you’ve written in anger, but never sent. The kind of 3 a.m. what-ifs that keep you up and pacing even though you should be sound asleep. It’s a message that rings especially poignant in the post-COVID (but not really) world. If hope is a bird taking flight, then regret and resentment are the burdensome weight around its neck.
It’s an ambivalent feeling that Small Time ‘Capone understands well. On the gorgeous, rolling folk song “Lips,” the band somberly declares that “We can’t move on stuck here living in the past” It’s simple enough advice, and also one that humans routinely forego. Still, as the track makes clear, it’s often the unspoken words, those pesky “truncated promises” that haunt us. Or, put more poetically: “They tend to fall before you can rehearse / They float never leaving your head.”
A songwriting venture between Chris Senador (Summersick, Antarcticats) and Killian McCalla, Small Time ‘Capone are, by their own admission, hard to pin down. While their music draws from a lot of folk influences, you can hear elements of punk, bluegrass, ska, and more coursing through their songs. They’re also not afraid to reach out for a little assistance now and then. On “Lips” that help arrives in the form of AJ John (Summersick) on drums and percussion and Susy Reyes (Sarah and the Safe Word) on cello and violin. Together they add a bit of rollicking movement and an air of levity to the otherwise pensive proceedings.
Which brings us back to the start. Introspection is all well and good, but living too much in your head just leaves you all bottled up inside. Sometimes the best choice is to put your lips together, speak your truth, and let life sort it out.
More Info
Bandcamp: smalltimecapone.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @smalltimecapone
Instagram: @smalltimecapone