In a world where pop music reigns supreme, and mainstream lyrics dominate the airwaves, it’s easy to overlook the music behind the voices and catchy choruses. Those common features are what make a song blow up on the billboards, and weasel their way into the uncensored trenches of our minds.
Because of this, it seems unlikely that a band without a vocalist could create music that makes an impact. Enter Caspian, an instrumental band based out of Beverly Mass., whose album “Waking Season” was labeled the Best Post-Rock Album of 2012 by Spin.
Their music is both upbeat and haunting, and on Thursday, April 11th it will be gracing the stage at local music venue, The Space. Caspian will be teaming up with the Appleseed Cast, another post-rock group based out of Kansas, for a show that highlights a lesser-known tract of modern music.
Erin Burke-Moran, one of Caspian’s three guitarists, spoke of the long road behind developing Caspian’s unique sound, and how their use of three guitarists, a bass guitarist, drums, and sample programming has come to reflect a wide range of genres.
“Something that’s kind of interesting about Caspian is that everybody is pulling from a wide variety of influences,” said Burke-Moran. “Everybody has different bands that they’ve listened to at some point in the genre. Cal [guitarist Calvin Joss] was originally into old country, Phil [guitarist Philip Jamieson] was into some ambient music, Joe, our drummer, was really into techno, and I’m kind of into classical music and different things. I guess we’ve been inspired by a broad range of sounds, and everything has just come together to form what we sound like today,” he said.
Burke-Moran met his current band mates at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass, where he studied classical music, and classical guitar. Caspian was formed in 2003, and was in search of a vocalist to make them complete. But after playing a show at the Pickled Onion, a bar in Beverly, the positive feedback they received inspired them to stick with instrumentals.
Since Burke-Moran joined the band in 2007 Caspian has released three albums, gaining the most acclaim for 2011’s “Waking Season”; a title which Burke-Moran believes reflects the band’s journey and recent success at coming into its own.
Caspian typically plays in rock clubs with a 200 person capacity, but has performed everywhere from underneath a bridge in France to a converted cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio.
On May 26 they’ll play at Boston Calling, an outdoor festival at the Government Center in Boston, which is featuring acts such as Fun., The Shins, Of Monsters and Men, and Young the Giant among others.
The show at the Space will take place on Thursday, April 11 from 7-11 pm, and tickets range from $12-14. For more info on the band you can check out their website.
