Capsula: In the Land of Silver Souls

Argentinian (!) three-piece Capsula play a garage-rock mish-mash that incorporates swirling, fuzzy guitar, the occasional farfisa, and buckets of Iggy Pop-esque vocals — in English — from frontman Martin Gurvara. Plenty of other bands mine this same vein, but Capsula does so with vigor and inventiveness and a good deal more success than most. In the Land of Silver Souls is a 14-track fuzz-fest whose energy rarely flags, and if it doesn’t reinvent the form, well, it may go some way toward reinvigorating it.

Opening track “Wild Fascination” throws down the gauntlet with its layers of chiming wash of guitar distortion and reverbed vocals, but any number of other tunes are equally representative: “Hit ‘n’ Miss” thrashes along on waves of jarring fuzz, softened by breathy female harmonies, while “Into My Skull” pounds its midtempo stomp directly into the listerner’s cranium (along with Gurvara’s note-perfect Iggy impersonation). These songs are short sharp shocks — only one track tops four minutes, and happily, “Communication” is a moody, bass-heavy rumble that makes good use of its 5:09. Listeners who have been hankering for a satisfying set of down and dirty rock and roll basics, served up with energy and panache, will find their dreams answered. Party on, Garth.