Captain Baby

Captain Baby – Sugar Ox (Sunset Alliance)

Arizona's longest running label, Sunset Alliance, has brought you mostly sounds of a local pedigree since 1999. The last time the label released a physical CD unrelated to its owner and founder David Jensen (he of Before Braille, Art for Starters, and Loyal Wife), it was the quirky Mr Fantastical's "Ham Hocks & Guitar Strings," an album that could have been released as a children's record were it not for the Parental Advisory sticker for bad language that would have been required by law.

That was back in 2008 but now come this here July 22, Sunset Alliance will release the debut album of Captain Baby, the brain child of musician and street artist Asher Rogers. And, we might add, an out-of-towner who has never lived or even stepped foot in Phoenix as far as we know.

After bolting Nashville and eventually relocating to New York City, he formed this band whose unique sound is aptly self-described as "Hindi Halloween" music. Having heard the CD several times before reading their one-sheet, I feel somewhat vindicated when I look back at my scribbled-down early impressions of their CD (which read "XTC on crack" or "Vampire Weekend playing Bollywood pop backwards"). Rogers has said in interviews that he was driven to music by "My parents playing XTC all day everyday my entire life" and you can hear traces of Andy Partridge's earlier, jumpier self in songs like "Bury Your Head" and "Olive In the Ocean" but there's also a feeling of unease that permeates even the catchiest of Captain Baby's dance pop. It sometimes feels as if these melodies were arrived at by looking for satanic backmasking on Bollywood pop, liking what was heard and recording it going forward. Both dynamics are amply demonstrated by a brooding song like "Row On," with its slightly nightmarish chorus, "They say row on away from you/ But that's not what my heart says to do." It's as if you're hearing the echoey voices in someone else's head and luckily, they can carry a tune.

This challenging pop is not for everyone, but given time and repeated exposure to "Sugar Ox," it could be. But don't just take my word for it; see if the sweet and heavy sounds implied by the album title don't trample you like hypoglycemic bovine. Watch and listen to this official video for "Olive in the Ocean" where the men of Captain Baby recreate a Benjamin Moore salesman's wet dream.


You can get physical copies of Captain Baby's "Sugar Ox" at Stinkweeds Records, well before its release date. Like, now! - Arizona Republic

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write: Captain Baby combines Indian vocal stylings, Bloc Party’s guitar rhythms, and LCD Soundsystem’s rubbery bass. Sugar Ox opener “I Say You” features songwriter Asher Rogers singing in a lilting, soaring, Indian-inspired vocal line over LCD’s signature thrum-thrum-thrum bass line and some twinkly guitar work, creating a haunting yet still comforting mood. It’s difficult to imagine those two moods together, but it’s difficult to imagine Captain Baby’s music (unless you’re Asher Rogers, apparently). It’s also difficult to capture in words, so I’m going to keep this short and refer you to the singles.

“Bury Your Head” and single “Forest Charm” pick up the pace with Bloc Party’s helter-skelter drum/bass/guitar style–if you were into Silent Alarm, you’ll find much to love here; Bloc Party also toed that line between tension and catharsis. But where Bloc Party stayed firmly in a “midnight on an urban freeway” vibe, Captain Baby strays into some Of Montreal joy occasionally. The quirky, frenetic songwriting quality of Tokyo Police Club also gets roped in every now and then (second single “Row On”).

It’s a fair bet that when I have this many RIYLs in a review, I’m struggling to encapsulate something truly unique and interesting. Captain Baby displays a vision not often captured with Sugar Ox; what’s even more impressive is that it doesn’t have to dip into the avant-garde to do it. (You can still dance to this!) Sugar Ox is commended to anyone who seeks out adventurous and challenging music that is still fun. - Independent Clauses

There is something about the whole aesthetic of lo-fi that appeals to me. I’m a sucker for it. All the better if it’s steeped in great pop melodies. Captain Baby deliver this kind of thing in spades. Sugar Ox is a great indie rock record in general, but it’s the fuzz and pop sensibilities that make it stand out. Captain Baby is the latest project for Asher Rogers, who is probably best known for his time in Cactus. This is a different kind of band entirely. The punk and thrash influence is gone, and Captain Baby are making something different.

In fact, Captain Baby share more in common with bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Tokyo Police Club. Sugar Ox is an enjoyable listen in the first place, but the dabbling in more experimental things makes it a very interesting listen as well. Album opener, “I Say You,” starts the record strong. It is a great piece of fuzzy production, and just a driving thump. It sets the tone really well for what will come next. Other songs, like “Climb Your Tree” and “Forest Charm,” add a faster element. They take cues from world music and dance music production. Mixing an (almost) four on the floor beat with guitar driven indie rock, they almost have a new wave feel to them.

Sugar Ox is just a great record all around. It is a strange document of the middle ground where world music (Hindi-pop in most cases, some Spanish influence though), indie rock, and dance rhythms meet. Definitely something worth exploring. - Team Reasonable

NYC post-psycedelic pop band Captain Baby is the musical outlet for street artist Asher Rogers who has transferred his colourful painter's palette to the recording studio, using elements from traditional Indian music, West Coast Pop and Nineties college rock. The new full-length Sugar Ox is a multi-faceted album, capturing sweet dreams and nightmares (Row On), religion (Worshipping You) and death (Climb Your Tree).



With percussive guitar lines of the XTC variety, dance inspired bass lines, a nervous back beat and treated vocals Sugar Ox is an album for smart pop aficionados who can handle quirkiness and off-the-cuff lyrics. Only a street artist could come up with Olive In the Ocean, a song about the colours of the Benjamin Moore Paint Company. And who'd have thought that Proper Gentlemen can act like elephants? - Here Comes the Flood