“Houses” Continues Cappo’s “CAPStone” Trilogy Taking Places 2 Decades After S.T.A.R.V.E. (Striving To Achieve Real Values Everywhere) [Album Review]
Here is the 9th studio LP from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Cappo. Known for being 1/2 of Oblique Strategies & 1/3 of VVV, he also has all 8 of his previous full-lengths as well as 8 extended plays & a mixtape under his belt over the course of his career spanning a quarter of a century. S.T.A.R.V.E. (Striving To Achieve Real Values Everywhere) came out 8 months earlier conceptually building itself around the idea of isolation & Houses looks to mark a new chapter in the CAPStone trilogy.
The self-produced “Ghosts” asks whether one would blame him for his flaws or stay with him if he bared his soul whereas “Lyfe” produced by Sam Zircon discusses laying wide awake after lying to himself & hibernating. “HMRC” recalls a letter he got from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs when he was in the middle of cleaning his kid’s room just before “Neutral” drumlessly talks about needing a minute or 2 so he can weigh the options he has.
“Funeral” moves on from there explaining that the more we move backwards, the more we’ll dwell upon it leading into “Unborn Seed” pens an open letter to an embryonic sibling to our protagonist’s children who would’ve looked similar to either his son or daughter. “Will We?” ends the 1st leg of Houses on some psychedelic trap vibes combining hi-hats & a pitched vocal sample suggesting to say how you really feel when the chance comes while “Sessy Lu” talks about trying to keep tabs of wheee he came from.
The 2nd half of the album continues with “Undigested Sweetcorn” incorporating a woodwind instrumental discussing him being free to focus on his intellect without any mental burdens getting in the way of it & after “Forces” talks about trying to shake off the pessimistic negatives he’s experience throughout his life, “Sprt Lvls” brings some ominous keyboards in the picture looking to move quickly due to him running out of time.
“Solitaire” pushes further towards the conclusion of Houses returning to the boom bap talking about prioritizing his own steez & him not co-signing anyone for money while “Lay Your Head Down” talks about him accepting that he & a polar opposite will forever be strangers to each other. The closing track “While You Sleep” brings Sam Zircon behind the boards 1 last time assuring a loved one who’s asleep that he’ll always be there for them.
Houses leaps 2 decades forward from it’s predecessor telling the story of a working-class early-middle-aged father of 2 struggling to come to terms with the societal restrictions, conformities & benefits of fatherhood in addition to making some commentary on the state of contemporary British society as opposed to continuing S.T.A.R.V.E. (Striving To Achieve Real Values Everywhere)’s portrayals of alienation informed by other depictions of the issue.
Score: 8/10
