Rich Howells

STREAMING: Scranton punks Captain, We’re Sinking return during ‘Trying Year’ with new album

STREAMING: Scranton punks Captain, We’re Sinking return during ‘Trying Year’ with new album
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Other than playing The Menzingers’ annual NEPA Holiday Show, things have been relatively quiet for fellow Scranton punk band Captain, We’re Sinking. Last year, vocalist/guitarist Bobby Barnett released a surprise live solo album, “Live From The Star & Garter,” after touring the United Kingdom with his brother Greg Barnett, vocalist/guitarist of The Menzingers, in early 2016.

Other than that, new Captain songs were mentioned in interviews and blog posts for years and even performed live at the 2016 NEPA Holiday Show, but it wasn’t until today that their next full-length album, “The King of No Man,” was officially announced as they debuted the first single, “Trying Year,” on Billboard, which they described as “propelled by the tumult of young adulthood, but it’s never a drag, because it’s an absolute jam. Dueling guitars rev the engines towards a shout-along chorus that’s every bit as cathartic as turning in the last exam.”

“[‘Trying Year’] is about trying to come to grips with what the universe gives you, and continuing to push forward with the cards that are dealt,” Bobby Barnett told Billboard.

“I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as school was concerned, but I also had a lot of things happening in my personal life that seemed to be caving in,” he continued. “I would walk around campus humming the chorus to myself and just laugh to myself. It was almost a feeling of, ‘OK, well, what’s next?’”

The album, which is due out Friday, June 23 via Run for Cover Records, can be pre-ordered on the Boston label’s website now as a CD, digital download, or limited yellow, light blue, and dark blue vinyl separately or in bundles with t-shirts and hats. The site also described the record, their second on Run for Cover, in more detail and provided the 10-song tracklist:

Captain, We’re Sinking have always had a story to tell. For the decade they’ve been a band, their songs have always confronted life’s hardships in a way that feels lived-in and authentic. On “The King of No Man,” the band presents their best work to date – a punk album that is resilient in every sense of the word. Right from the start of “Trying Year,” “The King of No Man” confronts life’s seemingly constant defeats, and throughout navigates themes of desperation, debt, and death. The musical arrangements are just as complex as the issues challenged in the lyrics: the huge sing-a-long choruses of “Books” and “Water” are placed side by side with the manic discord of tracks like “Don’t Show Bill” and “The Future Is Cancelled Part 2.” In spite of the different moods expressed, the songs on “The King of No Man” come together like a hallmark record for Captain, We’re Sinking. It is an album made for trying times, which might be why the lyrics feel so vital right now: “It’s the end of days… but we’re all OK.” Well said.

Captain, We’re Sinking – “The King of No Man” tracklist:

1. Trying Year
2. Books
3. Don’t Show Bill
4. Cannonless
5. Smash 2
6. The Future Is Cancelled Pt. II
7. Hunting Trip
8. Water
9. Crow (Little Wounds)
10. Dance of Joy

Captain, We’re Sinking’s debut album, “The Animals Are Out,” came out in 2007 with a record release show with Tigers Jaw (who also have a new album coming out this year) at the former Cafe Metro in Wilkes-Barre. Their follow-up, “The Future Is Cancelled,” was released in 2013, with sporadic shows in recent years. The band is currently booking a summer tour with dates TBA.

Listen to Barnett talk about his acoustic tour, his music, working on the new Captain album, his family, the Scranton music scene, working as a substitute teacher, and more in Episode 42 of the original NEPA Scene Podcast: