I Capture the Castle

Ken:
This duo has only been in existence in the Moncton scene for a few months now (to my knowledge) and already has an EP available. Reminiscent of Halifax-based band Wintersleep, these six songs show a large amount of promise to what the future could hold, good playing, good harmonies between them, it would be interesting to hear these songs with full band accompaniment. Maybe someday, but this definitely is not bad for the time being. I really enjoy the songs Wings and Another Bootleg.
Ken's Rating: *** 3/5


Steve:
I had never heard of this band before, but they offer up an interesting debut CD here. Opener "Another Bootleg" has a very cool Zeppelin sound to it. I would have to say it is also the strongest song of the six. One of the vocalists has a good raspy sounding vocal delivery and the harmonies work well with his style. Once again, I agree with Ken, some of these songs would probably become even better with a band. I could almost hear Troubled Teens & the Mothers Who Love Them being played electric with bass and drums. Maybe another time??
Steve's Rating: *** 3/5

- Metro Marquee

IC/TC 'ain't your father's band"
By Eric Lewis
As published July 22, 2004 - Metro Marquee Magazine

The band might be growing, but the core will always remain the same.

"It's really egotistical and I'll admit it, but the band is me and Nathan on stage," says Joe Doucet, 22, one half of Moncton's newest acoustic duo I Capture The Castle, or IC/TC.

Doucet and musical comrade Nathan Jones, 20, are in the process of adding a bass player and drummer to the band, but both say they will continue to lead the band in the direction they want to go in. The new members will fill out the sound. Once they add that final element, the formula is simple, according to Doucet -- "get everybody together, get tight and get whatever gigs we can."

Doucet and Jones met over monctonlocals.com in March when Doucet was hunting for a band to play in. They agreed to meet up with some acoustic guitars to see what would happen.

"I knew it was love at first sight," says Jones with a laugh.

Each singer/guitarist brought in their own songs and taught them to each other.

"I remember writing these songs and thinking these suck, these songs aren't leaving this apartment," says Doucet. He says playing them with Jones has added a new element and it brought the songs to life.
Quickly, the band recorded a six-song EP. Jones is an audio technician who works with local bands and he put together their recording quickly. The album was called This Ain't Your Father's Union.

Since then, it's been gig after gig, jam after jam. Doucet says it's not difficult to get gigs in this area as long as you know a few people and "your band doesn't suck," he adds, laughing. He says what is good about Moncton is generally, bands will play alongside any other band without complaint.

"We played with Cohesive, a punk band, and CLØÑ, a heavy band... and we're a . . . damn acoustic duo! That's more fun for me, going to a show to see two different bands is more fun."

So that's a bit about the band's history, but where the hell did they get the odd, but unforgettable name? "I was reading Time magazine," says Doucet, when he saw the name. "I Capture The Castle is a movie and a book. I can't remember what the review said, but the name was cool."

For short, the band uses IC/TC, which Jones adds will continue until AC/DC sues them.

Doucet stresses now that whenever someone is going to make a logo or promotional piece for them, it will have "no . . .damn castles."

Jones came up with the album name -- This Ain't Your Father's Union -- from a guitar pick with that quote on it. "I said, OK, here's the album name, jokingly, but Joe said OK," he remembers. "After one of us says OK, it's pretty much set in stone."

Doucet says music is "the only thing that I'm real good at." He says a bit of fame in the Maritimes is all he wants, but both agree making a living at making music is their ultimate goal.

"The main purpose of this band is to show people that acoustic guitars can rock just as hard," says Doucet.


- Metro Marquee

I Capture The Castle offers infectious CD

Times & Transcript (Moncton)

Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Page: B3
Section: Music Reviews
Byline: Eric Lewis MUSIC REVIEWS

Eric Lewis rates his music reviews on a scale of one to five, with (*) equivalent to a poor rating, (**) fair, (***) good, (****) very good and (*****) excellent.

I Capture The Castle
Plastic Dreams & Drama Queens
Independent
(***)

This Moncton-based acoustic duo turned full band rockers have come a long way in the last two years or so. This is their first full length album, their last release was an acoustic EP.

The album kicks into high gear immediately with the rockin' "Plastic" that features a chorus you'll almost need to scream along to. The same trend continues on "Hand Out" and one of the best tunes, "Down", that has a riff I'm sure was stolen from somewhere on The Monoxides Out of the Marsh EP. Joe Doucet takes over vocals from Nathan Jones on "Another Bootleg", a slightly rocked up remake of one of their songs from the band's days as a duo. The next tune is easily one of the best on this disc - "Perfect" is a much darker song that is a great change from the upbeat rock found on most of this disc.

Overall, the duo showed potential and the quartet is a realization of that potential. They haven't peaked yet though, so expect even better things down the road. The production and performance is a little rough around the edges, but the rockin' songs, variety of material and the energy these guys play the songs with is infectious.
- Times & Transcript (Moncton)

Approximately a year and a half ago when my collegue Steve and I reviewed I Capture The Castle's debut EP, the band was an acoustic duo with obvious potential. At the time, both Steve and I enjoyed the EP though we mused aloud about the band's otential as a full band, rather then simply sticking together as a duo. Fast forward to 2006 and their new full length album - with a full band. It would be just plain arrogant for Steve and I to take credit for the band's change between release, so I'll let the band convince you it was their idea. Just kidding, guys.
Plastic Dreams & Drama Queens comes out of the gate swinging with rock that takes the form of Plastic, an ode to all the Ashlee Simpsons our there who might have the looks but not the talen to back it up. (She doesn't have either in my opinion, but moving right alon...) There are a couple of hold-over songs from their acoustic EP here in fine electrical form (Troubled Teens and Another Bootleg). And while I noticed some similarities between a few of the songs and the guitar riffs they share, tracks like Can You Keep Up, Down and Trustworthy make it all worthwhile. Perhaps it's the drummer in me speaking, but I find the drums lose their footing on occasion on a few of these tracks. While the missteps aren't frequent, they do take away from the songs' momentum for a moment or two.
Plastic Dreams... is a good rock record but I feel we're only starting to scratch the surface with the potential that lies within this band. There is no question that their progression is coming along very nicely but I feel the best is still yet to come from I Capture The Castle.

- Ken Kelley - Here Magazine