BirminghamArchive edition
The Reviews
Captain Horizon in the press, 2010 to 201529 cuttingsSpelling as printed
Critics kept asking why nobody had signed Captain Horizon. In December 2013, Rocksector did
Reviewers gave both albums scores between 8.5 and 10, and live writers kept calling Whitty the best frontman in the Midlands.
Most of the early coverage came from gigs. Through 2011 and 2012 the Midlands rock press reviewed the band at the Roadhouse and the O2 Academy in Birmingham and at the New Disorder Festival at the MFN, and two things came up again and again.
The first was Whitty. Midlands Rocks called him “probably the best front man on the scene at the moment” after New Disorder in 2011, and the following summer Rocking The Midlands wrote that he “could sing the phonebook and make the damn thing entertaining.” Cack Blabbath was sure he “spent as much time in the crowd as on the stage”.
The second was a question. “When is this band going to be signed?” Midlands Rocks asked in 2011. After a Roadhouse show in September 2012 Jenny Tate called it “criminal that they’re not yet signed”, and days later Tony Gaskin wrote that he had lost count of the people asking him. Rocksector Records signed the band in December 2013, re-released the first album and put out the second.
Nobody settled on a genre. Writers compared Josh Watson’s guitar to The Edge, Johnny Marr and Marillion’s Steve Rothery, and the songs to Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd. Harry Paterson at Nottingham Live heard “alt, prog, classic rock, indie and unashamedly glorious pop”.
The records got the same welcome as the shows. Powerplay gave The Lights of Distorted Science 9/10 and called it “Very close to genius, in fact.” Imitation Sun got 10/10 from The Midlands Rocks and 9/10 from Maximum Volume Music, which wrote that “there’s no one else quite like them”.
Not everyone was won over. Reviewing the 2014 re-release of the first album, Power of Metal liked the songs but found the band “content to play it safe”.
The records
Imitation Sun Album, 2015, Rocksector Records
This record proves categorically that there’s no one else quite like them and you should accept no imitations.
So, like a back road mystery tour, this album contains surprises and gems that will make you glad that you took that detour and headed off the beaten track to discover unknown pleasures.
10 tracks that transcend musical boundaries by superheroes Captain Horizon
Of the tracks on offer that are all consistently good, I am beginning to like the title track, 4+ minutes of total magic!
Well, with Imitation Sun they have managed to produce a very versatile piece of work that could easily catapult them onto bigger and better things if the stars align.
riffs are chunky & sharp, modern & retro.. moments of real classic
The Lights of Distorted Science Album, 2012
Indeed; the band transcends such transparent origins and emerge with something akin to greatness. There is real chemistry at work here and the final result is beauty, sadness, power and rage. Very close to genius, in fact.
Emotional integrity and intellectual rigour married to songs of almost unbearably moving intensity
Outstanding track though has got to be the powerful Patch, an anti-war song dedicated to Harry Patch, Britains last fighting Tommy from World War 1 … now it all it’s full glory this is a real lump in the throat song, and a firm favourite played live.
Whitty’s vocals standout with originality, Mez keeps a tight control on some seriously dynamic range, Watson shreds precisely when he needs to and I haven’t been addicted to bass like this since Jared Followill.
If nothing else, get them to the states so I can stop being so angry.
The songs are catchy, melodic and bluesy and underpin the eagerness of these 4 young English musicians.
Both on an individual and on a compositional level it’s as if Captain Horizon are content to play it safe.
El Nibre EP, 2011
However the real gem is the closer Strong Enough a chilled out mini epic that has the ghost of Hawkwind on the intro before floating dreamily away into Porcupine Tree / Darwins Radio territory.
Strong Enough is a down-tempo ballad that Marbles-era Marillion would have been proud to call their own
Radiostasis EP, 2011
Subtleties and textures, buried under the sheer physical assault and dynamism of their live show, emerge here with surprising results.
Anybody into the Melodic Rock/AOR scene will do themselves no harm in checking this band and their music out.
Captain Horizon EP, 2010
A fine debut EP from Captain Horizon
On the night
Live reviews from 2011 to 2014, in the order they ran.
· New Disorder Festival, MFN
The unique blend of alt, prog, classic rock, indie and unashamedly glorious pop that constitutes Captain Horizon’s songs is clearly made for enormadomes and for a mesmerising half-hour period, the MFN was transformed into the California Bowl.
· New Disorder Festival, MFN
Whitty is probably the best front man on the scene at the moment and his on stage (and off a lot of the time!) antics and banter are as much a part of this band as the music is. … For me, by far the performance of the day. When is this band going to be signed?
· O2 Academy 3, Birmingham
Witty is just about the best frontman in the Midlands. He could sing the phonebook and make the damn thing entertaining.
· Emma Scott Presents, Birmingham
Yes. They. Can. Captain Horizon storm onto the stage with fantastic confidence and blast the rawest and most energetic set so far.
· Live review
First impressions live did not fail as Captain Horizon simply erupted upon stage with a force that brought a smile of joy to my face
· The Roadhouse, Birmingham
Captain Horizon just blew my mind, rocked my world and touched the metal core of my soul to such an extent that words are hard to come by. … it’s criminal that they’re not yet signed!
· The Roadhouse, Birmingham
Captain Horizon, as RTM has said before, are pound for pound, perhaps the best unsigned band in Brum. … Best described, if you will, as a type of alt-rock Pink Floyd
· The Roadhouse, Birmingham
captainHorizon defy pigeon-holing; all you need to know is that if you like it hard, heavy, melodic, and delivered with passion and genuine belief, look no further.
· New Disorder Festival, MFN, Shipley
I’ve lost count the amount of times people have said to me “why arn’t these guys signed?” or “these guys should be huge”
· New Disorder Festival
CH pack in an unbridled bouncy energy that few can match. I’m sure Whitty spent as much time in the crowd as on the stage, seriously, this guy is one of the best frontmen you will ever see.
· SOS Festival, Radcliffe
Captain Horizon were only signed to Rocksector last year and have a very likeable alt/prog sound and fronted by charismatic vocalist Steve Whittington.