We get a lot of mail here at RetroLowFi. And it’s not like I mind, either. I love getting free books, films and records from artists I may not be terribly familiar with, but last month I received an especially welcome package postmarked from Vermont. It was three seperate albums (on three seperate labels) by a project known as The Capstan Shafts. There’s nary a release date to be found, and credits are scarce beyond crediting the songs to one Dean Edward Wells. The packaging was as mysterious as you’d expect from, say, Jandek. Needless to say, I liked the presentation and was really excited to see what the records actually contained on them. And man, I wasn’t disappointed in the least. Three records full of folky/psychedelic goodness recorded on crackly, distorted four-track machines at very hot levels, undoubtedly burying the needles in the proverbial red, with lyrics like “Raised on cum / Not raised too well” and “She’s back from college for a week / I’m In my lucky monkey briefs”. Of course, the lyrics get a bit more sundazed than those examples, but sometimes the recordings get a bit too distorted to truly make out what Dean is saying… which is most of the charm that low-fi recordings offer us. Repeated listenings offer deeper insight into what’s going on, don’t they? Yes, and after repeated listenings, my favorite of these releases has to be the eleven-minute long EP Demon Dog Of The American Park Service. Not since Guided By Voices slew of 1993-94 EP’s have so many ideas co-existed and bounced off of each other in such a short period of time. As a matter of fact, all the songs are uniformly short, giving you exactly what you need and not once overstaying their welcome. Furthermore, the longest track on any of these records clocks in at exactly 2:08. Nice.

If you can find it, I highly recommend any Capstan Shafts material to fans of the early Neutral Milk Hotel demos, Tobin Sprout-era GBV or III-era Sebadoh. It may take a few listens to get, but with so much to wade through for discovery, it’s pretty hard to get sick of, innit?

I’d offer you an official website for more information, but there isn’t one. Instead, please enjoy these following songs by The Capstan Shafts.

The Capstan Shafts - 61 Sideburns.mp3
The Capstan Shafts - Negative Man, What’s The Antimatter?.mp3
The Capstan Shafts - The Worst Lessons From The Wrong People.mp3

P.S.: If Dean Wells is reading this, give us an interview, eh?

P.P.S.: And, send us more records. Please.