"Caroline" by Capital Lights, Tuesday, November 9, 2021

In 2008, Tooth & Nail Records was looking for their next big band after their mid-'00 lineup had signed to major labels. In several episodes of Labeled, Brandon Ebel talks about this time, without specifically naming a band, as a time when the label signed acts that no one on staff particularly liked, but in hopes that there would be a band that could generate the income of the label's heyday. Capital Lights was one of the bands to release their debut during an eclectic year for the label. Formed in 2002 under the name afterEight, the Tulsa, Oklahoma natives who would become Capital Lights started out as a screamo band with lead singer Jacob Dement. But when Dement left the band, bassist Bryce Phillips took over vocal duties, and the band's sound changed into a power pop-punk sound. With big dreams to follow in the footsteps the Golden Age of Tooth & Nail bands from just three years prior to them, they hoped to build a Warped-Tour career, but that never happened.

ROCK STAR, SWAGGERS LIKE A HOT SHOT. To put This Is an Outrage in the context of 2008 Tooth & Nail releases, there were only a few memorable records that year. There was The Classic Crime's sophomore record, The Silver Cord, Family Force 5 moved to Tooth & Nail and released their polarizing Dance or Die, changing the "Kountry Gentlemen" into a dance-pop group. Copeland released their fourth record, You Are My Sunshine, Showbread released their ambitious double LPs Anorexia and Nervosa. Starflyer 59, Joy Electric, Emery, Haste the Day, and Underoath all released albums, and none of the them were the stand out records in their discography. Then there were a lot of debut albums that would get a sophomore record before a break up. Active rock group Since October, overtly Christian band Ivoryline, power metal group Secret & Whisper, pop-punk band Search the City, country singer-songwriter Corey Crowder, and gothic emo group The Becoming all had debut albums this year, but ultimately failed to spark a lasting recording career. Children 18:3 released their first of three records. After releasing their sophomore record, Cruel to Be Young, Jonezetta called it quits after failing to reach the success the label had hoped for. Capital Lights appeared at a time when it stopped being cool to be listening to Tooth & Nail. This Is an Outrage! was catchy, though. The mile-a-minute singer Bryce Phillips, the synth, and the tempo helped make every song sound the same, which was pretty repulsive when I first heard the album. Seeing the band perform live on the Creation Fest tour, a friend I went with started listening to the CD in his car, and it grew on me. Today, I wouldn't say that it's good music, but it reminds me of a particular time.

EGOTISTICAL, IN HER PERFECT WORLD. "Caroline" comes from the band's follow-up record, 2012's Rhythm 'N' Moves. The story behind this album doesn't make sense to me. A year after touring with Outrage! Capital Lights broke up. Guitarist Johnathan Williams said on The Bible Belt Bros podcast that Capital Lights had been pigeon-hold in touring with Christian bands, though they wanted to do club tours. A year after breaking up, the band got back together to write music. Tooth & Nail's CEO Brandon Ebel agreed to release another Capital Lights record, produced by the band rather than Aaron Sprinkle whose schedule didn't match the band's. The release of Rhythm gave singles to Christian rock radio, but it wasn't a huge record, and the band didn't tour to promote it. Of all of the bands that just faded out of the late '00s, why was Capital Lights the one that got their album of closure? Rhythm delves more into pop music and sounds like a 2012 record, full of autotune and sound effects. Though catchy as ever, Rhythm seems to have even less lasting power in the scene. The confident-to what I perceive as arrogant lead singer sings about a girl "who fell in love with herself." The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, a little cheesy, and maybe a little sexist. They make me think about a girl I knew who was my sister's rival, but that's a story for another day. The autotune job reminds me of The Gregory Brothers autotuning the news. "Caroline" isn't a great song, but I couldn't get it out of my head after hearing it today.

Read “Caroline” by Capital Lights on Genius.