The full-length debut album from Los Angeles' Capital Cities, 2013's In a Tidal Wave of Mystery is an infectious mix of synth-heavy dance pop.
These musically ambitious productions touch upon '80s new wave and '70s disco in the band’s own unique, lo-fi way.
In fact, part of the album’s charm is that many of the songs here sound like keyboard-heavy demos that were perhaps meant to be fleshed out with various instruments but never were.
Hence, the preponderance of synth trumpet, digital strings, and other extremely old-school-sounding electronic samples.
The result is that the album brings to mind the early, innovative electronic music of artists who were earnestly taken with the explicitly computer-generated sounds of the modern wonder that was the synthesizer, like Level 42 and Giorgio Moroder.
In that sense, In a Tidal Wave of Mystery fits in nicely alongside the works of such similarly inclined indie pop contemporaries as AM & Shawn Lee, MGMT, Phoenix, and the Strokes' Julian Casablancas' solo work.
Featured on the album is the Top Ten radio hit "Safe and Sound.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Safe and SoundRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | Patience Gets Us Nowhere FastRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Kangaroo CourtRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | I Sold My Bed, But Not My StereoRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | Center StageRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Farrah Fawcett HairAndré Benjamin, Ryan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | ChartreuseRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | OrigamiRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Lazy LiesRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Tell Me How to LiveRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Chasing YouRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | Love AwayRyan Merchant, Sebu Simonian | Capital Cities | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 43 mins | 99 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 296 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | André 3000 | Featured Artist |
| 2 | André Benjamin | Composer, Vocals |
| 3 | Capital Cities | Primary Artist |
| 4 | João Lauro Fonte | Artwork |
| 5 | Eliot Hazel | Photography |
| 6 | Channing Holmes | Drums |
| 7 | Andrew Kzirian | Oud |
| 8 | Spencer Ludwig | Trumpet |
| 9 | Mike Marsh | Mastering |
| 10 | Ryan Merchant | Composer, Mixing, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 11 | Nick Merwin | Guitar |
| 12 | Simon Mills | Producer |
| 13 | Ken Oriole | Engineer |
| 14 | Manny Quintero | Bass |
| 15 | Shemika Secrest | Vocals |
| 16 | Sebu Simonian | Composer, Mixing, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 17 | Soseh | Featured Artist, Vocals |
| 18 | Frank Tavares | Narrator |
| 19 | Karen Thompson | Mastering |
| 20 | Brian Warfield | Trumpet |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |