THE CAPES
Call it a revolution, call it an invasion -- call it what you will, The Capes are rapidly catching the public’s ear. We call it a rescue.

Meeting at the ultra-cool hub of art and music, Goldsmiths College, the same haunts that brought you Bloc Party, Clor and Art Brut, Kris Barratt (lead vox, guitars) and Richie Gladman (keys, bvs) rallied in the rehearsal rooms with buddy Rupe Cresswell (bass, bvs). They started jamming some tracks in what was to become the embryonic stages of the band. Soon they brought in old friend Rupe Phelps and started gigging. Realizing they wanted to give things more sonic depth they soon recruited Cresswell’s younger brother Nick (guitars, keys, bvs) and here The Capes were formed.

After sharpening their sound, The Capes found their own unique spot amongst bands as diverse as Blur, The Super Furry Animals, The Beach Boys to Lou Barlow and (setting themselves aside from the rest of the Gang of Four influenced Brit invasion) XTC, meeting somewhere in between, at a huge explosion of buzzsaw guitars fused with squelchy old analog synths and soaring West Coast harmonies.

The growing buzz around them led to their being signed by US indie upstart Hard Soul Records, who decided on a stopgap whilst the band finished recording their debut album with Lenny Franchi (Bjork, The Music, British Sea Power) and the label compiled a mini-album Taste (released July ’05) which would also act as the band’s introduction to the US. Taste did exactly what it said on the box, made up of 45s released in the UK over the preceding 18 months, it gave the American public a sample of the band’s unique brand of high-end indie pop.

With their first US tour in fall 2005, they played dozens of key venues around the US (Troubadour, Knitting Factory, Continental, Gypsy Tea Room etc.) with some great bands (The Warlocks, Gris Gris, Gang of Four, The Willowz), and won over new audiences with their infectious live show. Everything culminating in their Popscene, SF performance where they were met by 250 fans singing along loud and proud, they had arrived as the new darlings of Brit Rock. During the tour, the band visited over 40 college and NPR radio stations for live performances and interviews and even crammed in a couple of festivals: Music Fest Northwest and the CMJ Music Marathon NYC where they were invited to play an outside/in-studio for college radio moguls KEXP at the Museum of Television and Radio, broadcast live nationwide and podcast worldwide.

Now, here comes Hello, The Capes’ freshman Long Play offering on Hard Soul Records, which hit stores Feb. 28th, 2006, with a pre-release to college radio in October ’05. Storming the CMJ charts, Hello opened up as 3rd most added and entering the chart as the second highest new release at number 46. From there, the album never looked back. Coinciding with its official street date, Hello hit Commercial Specialty at full force, reinforced by the band’s second US tour. Debuting at SXSW this March, with an invite from Billboard Magazine to headline its Thursday night showcase, The Capes were touted as one of the key buzz bands at the festival, a position backed up by their performances at several other showcases, an interview at the official SXSW “Studio SX” with Paste Magazine, and their film shoot for Mitre, an advert documenting their performances “The Capes Brought to You By Mitre” which the UK Football company will air in US cinemas this summer. As they head back to England for their first UK tour later this Spring, the fab five from South London have burst upon the scene as a band to watch in 2006, with a nod from the industry and fans alike.