Capitol 6 Keeps it Brief

Back in the golden age of CDs, I believed that it was a band's duty to give me my money's worth. I was forking out my hard-earned cash for a CD, so shouldn't an artist at least have the decency to fill it up with as much music as it could hold? The industry was rolling in cash, so they were usually happy to oblige.

Nowadays, I don't buy CDs for many of the same reasons that I don't use rotary phones or microfiches. Instead, like so many other indie rock fans of my generation, I've developed appreciation for the brevity and symmetry of the vinyl record: two sides, adding up to around 45 minutes of music, and no need (or space) for superfluous filler.

That's exactly what kicks ass about Pretty Lost, the debut album from Vancouver's Capitol 6. These eight songs clock in at just under half an hour -- including the time it takes to flip the record over -- and Capitol 6 makes the most of the svelte runtime by packing each tune with jangling guitars and tripped out psych-country atmosphere.

Beginning with a charmingly out-of-tune saloon piano, opener "Playing Dead" sets an upbeat mood with its brisk garage-folk chug. You may even hear some traces of Capitol 6 front-man Malcolm Jack's other project, Sun Wizard, in the song's organ-drenched chorus, which sounds like it could have been ripped from a classic '70s heartland rock record.

Jack and his collaborators, who include members of local acts like Chains of Love and Bummer High, cut loose on the brawny "Beside the Fire," which climaxes in a barn-burning jam punctuated by handclaps, wheezing harmonica and six-string fireworks. The song even includes a shout out to Vancouver's public transit system, as Jack sings, "I get on the 99 and ride my way into the weirdest world" -- so presumably he’s heading east.

Elsewhere, the record offers the Kinks-esque shuffle "Quit Your Job" and the peppy, riff-laden single "Cold Ride." It's all fairly straightforward stuff, and nothing on Pretty Lost strays too far from Capitol 6's folksy comfort zone. But this humble nature is part of the album's appeal, which is over before the band's tricks have time to get old.

But if you still cling to those '90s standards of length and you're worried that eight songs might be a little too short, you can stream the whole album for free from Capitol 6's Bandcamp page. How's that for getting your money's worth?