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Magnet Magazine "Top 20 Albums of 2006"

Pitchfork

...Dance Away the Terror takes that well-earned looseness and turns the harmony hose on it, bringing the rawk of the Capitol Years' previous album Let Them Drink and the Jewelry Store EP into the candy shop of pop. Leader Shai Halperin has kept the punch in the band's arrangements while softening his vocal melodies-- in scope, this is closest to his first album, when he alone was the Capitol Years, but it's much more memorable than that record. For instance, when Dance Away dips closest to the insular folk he was trafficking in back then, on "Seven Songs", the directness of the melody and the sharpness of the three-part harmony send it right home as ambient flurries of electric piano fall around it.

"Revolutions" has a floating feel provided by a jaunty rhythm and pentatonic bass line, and the vocals fall in so naturally it feels like they were dropped there. The smoothness of the verses is offset by descending guitar runs and a series of double-stop interludes where the band piles on the spacey guitar and chiming keys. "You Can Stay There" is drenched in velvety vocal interplay, and the album closes with a solid one-two power pop punch. "Oh Lord" features Halperin's most impassioned lead vocal, paired with a catchy melody, while "It's Not Okay" teases after the opening verse with a chasmic pause, before redoubling and heading off for a huge chorus that takes hippie sentiment head-on with the line "It's not okay to believe in love."

...it's the band's best full-length yet, and shows their approach maturing and becoming more nuanced. For a rock album, it actually has a rather calming effect...it stays with you either way as a satisfying album.

7.8 - Joe Tangari


Filter

Really liking ELO can be a little like drug abuse: it can detach you from reality, isolate you from friends and loved ones,
and leave you cold and penniless. But not every time. Clearly under the influence of Jeff Lynne, the Capitol Years have upped the dosage of harmonies 10- fold. True they¹re bit more sedated than on Let Them Drink, but they¹ve also matured without entirely succumbing to the bloated opacity of overproduction (ahem).

86% - Patrick James


Philadelphia Inquirer

Dan Deluca's Top 5 Local CDs of 2006

The Capitol Years, Dance Away the Terror (Park the Van). Capitol Years' leader Shai Halperin may sing "the rock scene in Philadelphia has hit a particular low" on "Mirage People," but this lush, harmony-happy effort argues just the opposite.


Magnet Magazine

Solely based on its awe-inspiring tunefulness, Terror is easily the finest Philly psych-pop album since Mazarin’s ’98 local landmark, Watch It Happen. Singer/guitarist Shai Halperin employs aching, Joe Pernice-like vocals throughout, and the album’s dreamily baroque-pop vibe recalls new-schoolers the High Dials as much as Halperin’s beloved Beatles.


Under The Radar

The Capitol Years have finally crafted an album worthy of mass attention. Open your ears to one of the better records of the year.


Urb Magazine

Wouldn’t it be nice to “Dance away the terror/As the terror dances your way.” Wait, that’s totally creepy — especially with the monotone delivery, the pounding piano that anticipates doom, the openness and suspension of the acoustic guitar. For “Genre, “this came up “Unclassified” on the ol’ iTunes. That’s a good assessment. It’s also compelling.

4 stars


Amp Camp

Philadelphia's The Capitol Years often get compared to Beck or the Beatles in the press coverage I've read about them and with these writers I couldn't agree less. The Years are an accomplished band of misfit cheese-steak lovers but their burnished, ethereal drone-poppiness, so prevalent on their latest release, Dance Away the Terror demonstrates that their influences seem to be more from the rarely colliding spheres of ambient glam than freak-folkular anglophelia. The band started out as front man, Shai Halperin's bedroom solo project and blossomed into the group that the pixies designated as being worthy to open their first gig after a tweleve year hiatus as well as performing with the discerning likes of Beachwood Sparks and The Kills. Dance Away employs a polychromatic, melodious backbone attached to a ribcage of ironic lyricism and Shai's placid, Brian Ferry harmonising; it's far more Thom Yorke's playful masterwork on the soundtrack from, The Velvet Goldmine than it is Abbey Road meets Mellow Gold. Nevertheless, beyond the band's affinity for camp and mythically pseudonyming themselves, a focused vision of organized and at many times joyous and prismatic soundscapes are clearly evident.

A perfect example of this is track 7, "It's Only Loveless" which, of course, cheekily references the Shoegazer classic with resonant guitar stabs that sound like rainbow lap-steels echoing into oblivion and Shai's characteristic take on Freddie Mercury dramatized for the Philly stage. "Chandelier" knells with a restive Bowie atmosphere in which extraneous synth noise has won the vote and seized The White House by force and with lazers yet, the battle was almost wholly inaudible save a single reporter who got there after most of the action had subsided and, realizing all was for naught, decided to sing the news in an eerie, yet strinking pant. "Oh Lord" is a steady flow of jangling guitar ambience and knifelike keyboarding that turns the pleading nature of the track into a tent-revival testimonial from the pit of a passionate believer's guts.

Other notable tracks include the frantically paced surf-beach anthemic, "Long Time" which proves to come as close to T-Rex meets 80s Mission of Burma meets The Sentinals as anything I've ever heard capping it with a wry, sardonicism that makes the track all the more pleasurable. Also, "Seven Songs" with its languid, middle English guitar foreshadowing which imparts a palpable, mid-career Zeppelin-esque ballad feel to it complete with liquid pianos and primeval synth jabs. The finest track on the record is absolutely, "Mirage People" with its Beach Boys handled, tongue-in-cheek chronicle of Philly's nascent rock scene and perfectly summed up in the line, "Yes its a shame/ The Burning Brides Skipped Town..."

This is a fantastically opalescent pop gem that bounces off the ear-drum straight into that place inside you where you hold all the things you enjoy recollecting. Check it out, go down to Philly and say whats up to the guys, give them your condolences on placing third in the divison his season, buy them a Geno's or, y'know the other one, whatever, just show your support because if any halogen-bright indy-glam band deserves it, it's definitely The Capitol Years.

Barnes and Noble

The Capitol Years' debut, Let Them Drink, was one of 2005's most pleasant surprises, a distillation of the last 40 years of guitar pop created by one-man-band Shai Halperin. Since then, Halperin turned the group in his head into a real band, and the now-five-member lineup of the Capitol Years return with a follow-up that bests the debut in every way. These Philadelphians still sound like Hits of the '70s, but where the first album jumped from style to style, Dance Away the Terror is more cohesive in its mix-'n'-match approach. Snaky, Television-ish guitar lines and ELO harmonies exist within the same song ("Long Time"). Elsewhere, Halperin is less subtle in his cribbing. A melody shamelessly ripped from a Beatles classic meets My Bloody Valentine-style tremolo guitar on "It's Only Loveless," a sonic experiment that works even if you don't get the joke in the song's title. Influences and stylistic nods aside, the Capitol Years know a good tune when they hear it, and Dance Away the Terror has more than its fair share of memorable moments.

Bill Pearis

Harp Magazine

Birthed from a one-man-band, the Capitol Years generated Strokes-level hype with the gritty garage of their breakout Jewelry Store EP. Then…nothing, aside from a “lost” country album and last year’s solid Let Them Drink, which found the Philly quartet doling out barroom rave-ups and sleepy balladry soaked in ’60s vibes. Dance Away the Terror is a feel-good tour of all that territory, with plenty of punk propulsion, folk solemnity and Byrds-damaged guitar wrangling along the way. As if to underscore their range, the band delivers the title track with weepy piano before reprising it with chugging reverb. There’s a lot to love here...



Babysue.com

This band has come a mighty long way since releasing their debut one-man band album (Meet Yr Acres) in 2001. Quickly after the first album was released, bandleader Shai Halperin made the decision to flesh the band out with more players and set out touring and recording with the full band. The band's perseverance has paid off. Years of hard work have resulted in more mature and inventive songs. Dance Away the Terror is another exercise in modern progressive pop in which Halperin tosses off one after another catchy Beatles-ish composition. The album features eleven tracks that will no doubt please the band's fans as well as bring in a wealth of new converts. The arrangements are rather understated, allowing the listener to concentrate on the lyrics, melodies, and exceptional harmonies. Beautifully gliding tracks include "Dance Away the Terror" and "It's Only Loveless"...

(Rating: 5+)

Philebrity

Back in the day, we used to get these packages in the mail all the time that had as their return address, “SHAI, SON OF ELI.” This was back in the time when bands used to do things like send demo tapes and hand-penned letters to writers; and while it wasn’t that long ago geologically, it feels like it was a completely different world. Shai, Son Of Eli was none other than Shai Halperin of The Capitol Years, and frankly, we thought he was nuts. He had all these demos of himself playing guitar and his voice, multi-tracked into a strange breathy froth — at this point, The Capitol Years were a twinkle in his eye. But the Shai demos would still come like clockwork, attached with notes that indicated he read the paper cover to cover each week, and was confounded why he was not a household name yet. This was not out of ego, we gathered, but more out of a sense that most of what got covered back then (think late Elephant 6 castoffs and Pedro The Lion side projects and you’ll begin to get a scope of the crappy musical ghetto we were stuck in for a moment there) was truly crap. Why not give ol’ Shai a whirl? We thought about it, but there was something about these notes that depicted a man posessed, and we just couldn’t tell yet whether that posession would eventually equal Unabomber or Rock Hero. So often, it’s entirely impossible to tell. All of this is to say, boy, are we ever glad that Shai Halperin turned out to be the leader of the city’s torch bearers of smart, visceral rock, and not some bomb-wielding maniac who’s afraid of cell phones and thinks that the fillings in his teeth are receiving radio waves from the moon. As awesome as all of that would be, none of it would be as awesome and inspiring as The Capitol Years have been to us in particular at Philebrity. Time and again, they’ve revealed themselves as a kick-ass rock band who are as engaged with this city more than almost any other band we can think of. And regular readers of this site also know that they’ve been present at most of the major milestones of Philebrity; in many ways, we really do regard them as the house band. And it’s a way better house when they’re around. Dance Away The Terror is their new record...and it is a record laid thick with dignified cool, hooks Mike Tyson himself would be jealous of, and course, “Mirage People” is on it too.


Wonkavision

Hey, funny story. The Capitol Years may be the first band ever to write a song in response to comments made on a blog. You see, a certain anonymous reader wrote to the folks over at Philebrity, a popular Philadelphia-based blog, dissing the Capitol Years, and taking many other Philly staples down along with them. “The Capitol Years are not a good band/Unchain yourselves, gang,” he wrote. So entertained were the guys by the reader’s description of the band, they decided to commemorate his words forever in song. 24 hours later, the boys sent the finished product now known as “Mirage People” back to Philebrity. And the rest, my friends, is internet history. While it is a funny story, it also proves that they can write a great fucking song.

“Mirage People” is just one of eleven syrupy sweet retro-pop creations included on Dance Away the Terror. The album’s title suggests that they don’t take everything too seriously, and that’s not far off. Within seconds of “It’s Only Loveless,” the familiar melody of “It’s Only Love” by the Beatles comes to the forefront. But the fuzzy shoe gazer delivery of the song reaches closer towards “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine. Even those in the dark about the marriage of these musical epochs will enjoy it.

“Oh Lord” pulls the whole record together. It’s unquestionably lead singer Shai Halperin’s strongest vocal performance, recalling the works of George Harrison. The lyrical content of the song is likewise his best work, casting little doubt upon the fact that while, yes, they like to have a little fun, they are anything but apathetic to the world around them. “Oh lord/In the back of your lung/Something is happening wrong/Did it take you way too long/To see that the bombs were coming/It’s been weeks since you wrote, since you sighed or spoke lord.”

The Capitol Years are happy with taking cues from the past. It is their comfort zone. But this comfort zone makes for great music. “Long Time” highlights the attuned harmonization of Halperin and Brian Ferry at a frantic, yet satisfying surf-rock pace. It’s really quite interesting, the prologue and self-titled track to the album contains the lyrics “The punk romances the past/’Cause he’s got no future/No future/No chance.” Well, it’s pretty safe to say that these guys have a promising future no matter that they have disrupted the space-time continuum.

D.J.Short


Amplifier Magazine

On its fourth album, this Philadelphia combo continues on their path towards mellowness, as this latest disc is certainly The Capitol Years’ least rocking effort. Having said that, it must be noted that they’re still practitioners of psychedelic-flecked pop music, and Dance Away the Terror contains many of their prettiest songs, featuring singer/songwriter Shai (Son Of Eli)’s trademark muted, reverbed vocals and lots of sudden chord and tempo changes. Standouts include the psych-soaked title track, “You Can Stay There,” “It’s Only Loveless,” which cheekily builds on The Beatles’ “It’s Only Love,” and a slice of modern bubblegum called “As the Terror Dances Your Way.” The band pulls “Long Time” and “It’s Not Okay” out of their old rockin’ bag of tricks, but longtime fans are definitely going to experience something new and tasty here. Dance Away the Terror definitely makes a strong argument as The Capitol Years’ best album.

David Bash

Concert Livewire

With songs that pull from '60s era stalwarts such as The Who and The Kinks ("Long Time"), Meddle-era Pink Floyd ("Revolutions") and The Beatles ("It's Only Loveless" and "Mirage People") it might seem that The Capitol Years were content on simply rehashing the past. But instead of sounding like they're pining for better musical days, their approach is remarkable fresh, and not unlike Guided By Voices' brain-trust Robert Pollard, who's '60s pop-cum-modern alternative rock has become the bedrock for much of today's indie rock sound.

At moments through the album bandleader Shai Halperin's vocals lightly float in and out, as on the dreamy soundscape of "Iraq Is Dead," while at others it soars high over the proud chorus of "Oh Lord," thankfully eschewing the priggish pomposity of Coldplay, and is even eerily buried in a shallow grave of piano and atmospheric guitar, as on the melancholic title track. More often than not, however, it's the perfect marriage of strong vocal deliveries, indelible melodies and arrangements that are at times punchy and guitar-spiked ("You Can Stay There," "It's Not Okay" and "Long Time") while at others beautifully sparse and naked ("Seven Songs" and "Chandelier") that makes this album demand repeat spins.

If you're a pop-rock aficionado, a fan of mid-'60s Britpop or just love catchy, well-produced rock with plenty of hooks then Dance Away The Terror is definitely for you.

4 stars

The Red Alert Interview