CARACAL

Let’s start with how I got my hands on this release…my band was on tour and we showed up at the Manila stop and was handed this record to me by Chi, the bassist of Typecast, a very good friend of mine. He said “You HAVE to check out this band…”

Fast forward to two weeks after tour ended and I’m sitting back at home. I receive an email from Caracal’s own band member Martin submitting news about his amazing band…it was for the music video found below. Up to this point I still hadn’t taken the CD out so I hadn’t heard Caracal yet but when Martin sent me the video and I pressed play, I sat back in extreme awe. I raced over to that stack of CD’s and grabbed the Caracal record and put it into my CD player immediately…

The heart of the band speaks for itself above – I greatly appreciate and admire bands who handle their business themselves. A band that is of this IMMENSE quality no doubt should have minders helping them with every little mundane task such as contacting media outlets to promote their release, but they’re doing it themselves. So in my eyes this band already has WIN written all over it…

But goddamn…the music. At the end of the day it’s all about the music…

This record from start to finish explodes with life. This record from the first note to the last displays huge musical talent from each member. The transitions, the minute touch and difference of when they go from explosively loud sections to the quiet more thought-provoking parts. The riffs don’t even hark back to any other type of band I’ve heard before…this band is certainly on par with bands like Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, Typecast, Love Me Butch…the standard is THAT high on this release.

The vocals? Give me a break – KC is a bonafide rockstar in the making. This guy can sing. Hands down one of the best singers I’ve heard in an Asian band…I can’t even compare his vocal stylings to anyone else but if gun to my head I would compare him to a MUCH better version of Taking Back Sunday (except that KC can actually sing in tune and there seems to be a lot more sincerity in his singing and expression of the words that come out of his mouth). Lyrically and in terms of the rhythmic delivery of his vocals on this release, is hugely inspirational to me as a singer – the way the words are put together to both compliment the melody but also the rhythm and pace of the music is mindbogglingly perfect. I’m taking lessons by listening to this record over and over.

The ten songs on this release, their second full length, is packed with magical moments of some of the most intricate yet powerful indie-rock this side of the world, in fact, of any side of the world. One of my favorites is Naga – the opening pattern into that melody on the guitar and then switching into a verse all within seconds!? Forget about it…to any actual fan of music and musicianship, this band will leave you speechless over and over again. I’m on my fifth listen of this record now and still discovering more details that I had not heard the first few times around.

The artwork? The album comes with a beautiful little CD booklet stacked with moving photography of every day Singaporean life. As someone from Hong Kong I have to say that any ONE of these photos could be life in Hong Kong! The similarities between Singapore and Hong Kong are insane…The photography comes from three Singaporean photographers who are also synonymous with Singapore musical events: Aloysius Lim, Melvin Ong, Rueven Tan and the photos they submitted for this artwork display a whole different side of their talent.

I don’t know what else to say…this is beyond a stellar release by any band anywhere on this planet. I cannot recommend this album enough to anyone anywhere. Keep your eye out for this band…there is NO reason that this band should not be taking over the world – if they were in the US, they would be enormous and future bands would be name-dropping them as an influence.

Yes, if you live outside of Singapore and Asia for that matter, you can purchase the digital version of their album right from their bandcamp below. You can also go to these links to get the physical copy:
http://caracalnoise.bigcartel.com

This band rules – get on it. - Riz Farooqi (Unite Asia)

The post-hardcore quintet had previously conquered high profile fests such as Baybeats, MIDI in Beijing and Canadian Music Week in Toronto, and they're at it once again, notching Taiwan's Spring Scream onto their already hefty belts. - Hidzir Junaini, JUICE Magazine

The post-hardcore quintet had previously conquered high profile fests such as Baybeats, MIDI in Beijing and Canadian Music Week in Toronto, and they're at it once again, notching Taiwan's Spring Scream onto their already hefty belts. - Hidzir Junaini, JUICE Magazine

Local highlights featured fresh faced upstarts like Nicholas Chim, Arajua and We The Thousands who got a chance to impress alongside veteran bands such as Caracal, Opposition Party and Ossuary. - Hidzir Junaini, JUICE Magazine

Local highlights featured fresh faced upstarts like Nicholas Chim, Arajua and We The Thousands who got a chance to impress alongside veteran bands such as Caracal, Opposition Party and Ossuary. - Hidzir Junaini, JUICE Magazine

"A regular crowd-puller at local indie music festivals such as Baybeats at the Esplanad and Ignite at Republic Polytechnic..." - Eddino Abdul Hadi, The Straits Times

"A regular crowd-puller at local indie music festivals such as Baybeats at the Esplanad and Ignite at Republic Polytechnic..." - Eddino Abdul Hadi, The Straits Times

A Singapore rock band has been invited to perform alongside the likes of Janet Jackson, Good Charlotte and other top acts at the Canadian Music Festival in March.

-CNA/ac - Satish Cheney, Channel News Asia

"I have no doubt alt-rockers Caracal...,who served up killer sets at Baybeats last Friday... would have held their own." - Victoria Barker - Victoria Barker, mypaper

"I have no doubt alt-rockers Caracal...,who served up killer sets at Baybeats last Friday... would have held their own." - Victoria Barker - Victoria Barker, mypaper

"Local alternative rockers Caracal were one of the crowd-pullers on Friday night." - Melissa Kok, The Straits Times

"Local alternative rockers Caracal were one of the crowd-pullers on Friday night." - Melissa Kok, The Straits Times

"A five-star indication of the city's indie sound"; "A shining example of global DIY bands"; "Singapore's scream to the world" - Zul Andra, NYLON Singapore

"A five-star indication of the city's indie sound"; "A shining example of global DIY bands"; "Singapore's scream to the world" - Zul Andra, NYLON Singapore

Caracal - Bear. Shark. Wolf - Self-released
Rating: *** 1/2

Caracal are a quintet which give as good as they take. Just like the agile and fiercely territorial cat that roams in Africa and western Asia that they take their moniker from, they mark their feral terrain across genres.

Everything is screwed tight; yet it's forever on the move, driven by propulsive drums and guitars that cut or cascade. - Yeow Kai Chai, The Straits Times

"They approach their music from a mature standpoint even though they're young which is rare among bands here." - Leonard Soosay, music producer of Snakeweed Studios - Sujin Thomas, The Straits Times, Life!

"They approach their music from a mature standpoint even though they're young which is rare among bands here." - Leonard Soosay, music producer of Snakeweed Studios - Sujin Thomas, The Straits Times, Life!

Caracal, undoubtedly the most popular band playing that afternoon.

Levan Wee of Ronin fame appeared on stage during Caracal’s sound check to promote the upcoming Rock for Wayne gig, a tribute to Wayne Thunder from The Suns, who passed away in his sleep on May 21 this year. He talked about Wayne not just as a fellow musician, but as a friend and mentor as well. The grief he felt was evident as his eyes filled up with tears halfway through his speech, and his voice was choked with emotion. The crowd listened in rapt and respectful silence.

However, the mood refused to be dampened. It was a rock concert after all, dammit! Levan then took the liberty of introducing Caracal and touted them as the Next Big Thing. It’s easy to see why though, as the boys put up a frenzied, ferocious and ultimately, entertaining performance for an appreciative audience. What truly set them apart from the other bands was their showmanship, as front man Chris worked himself into a sweat, dancing and headbanging in tandem to the music. It was riveting, to say the least. - Tony Thio, the urbanwire

Following the departure of Chris, Caracal went through a reshuffling and came back sounding a lot more prominent and edgier than before. I liked that they played a mix of older songs as well as their newer ones off the Phoenix EP.

Although Caracal sounds a lot heavier now and slightly angsty, their live performances never fail to impress me. There’s something about the unpredictability of Caracal during their live performances that commands attentions while directing listeners on an audio journey of discovery.

I’m glad that Caracal have grown and matured as a band after everything they’ve gone through as a band. I look forward to the other EP they’ll be releasing within the next few months as well as their full-length album next year. - Rebecca Lincoln

Caracal, undoubtedly the most popular band playing that afternoon.

Levan Wee of Ronin fame appeared on stage during Caracal’s sound check to promote the upcoming Rock for Wayne gig, a tribute to Wayne Thunder from The Suns, who passed away in his sleep on May 21 this year. He talked about Wayne not just as a fellow musician, but as a friend and mentor as well. The grief he felt was evident as his eyes filled up with tears halfway through his speech, and his voice was choked with emotion. The crowd listened in rapt and respectful silence.

However, the mood refused to be dampened. It was a rock concert after all, dammit! Levan then took the liberty of introducing Caracal and touted them as the Next Big Thing. It’s easy to see why though, as the boys put up a frenzied, ferocious and ultimately, entertaining performance for an appreciative audience. What truly set them apart from the other bands was their showmanship, as front man Chris worked himself into a sweat, dancing and headbanging in tandem to the music. It was riveting, to say the least. - Tony Thio, the urbanwire