Capital Soiree plays it 'cool' with new 'Pop Band' single, video
When Capital Soiree drops new music, there are a few things I've come to expect: dreamy melodies, catchy hooks and a milkshake-smooth vibe. But each release from the Brookfield and Chicago-based threesome - James Kourafas, Steven Rejdukowski and Max Romero along with McHenry native Dean Sinclair, who joins them for live shows on drums - also stands on its own merits, tackling interesting subjects in a way that's infused with an emotional depth gleaned from eight years playing together.
The band released the new single “Pop Band” today, which explores the never-ending chase for an image that's cool. Capital Soiree answered a few questions about the song and its video:
Q: Again, Capital Soiree swoops in with its signature earwormy hooks and a dreamy pop sound that belies the seriousness of the lyrics. What's the message you three are trying to convey with this song?
A: To us, “Pop Band” is a track about juggling the expectations of others and trying to figure out who you are, all the while ending up being your own biggest critic. I think personal identity is something that everyone struggles with at least a little bit at some points in their life - you find yourself wondering what others may think about the things you do/say or how you act. I feel like the track takes an introspective look at these feelings, while sorta poking fun at the concept of being cool.
Q: In a social media post, you mentioned that this was one of the most challenging songs you've worked on. Why is that?
A: This tune was particularly tough for us because we really wanted it to be right. We did the recording, production and mixing ourselves and ended up going through probably 50 versions! So it was a long process of trying out little changes and getting the fine details right so the whole tune could sound the way we envisioned. Did we get a little obsessive with it? Yeah maybe. Will anyone notice half the tweaks we spent hours on? Probably not. But we ended up with something that feels right to us, so hopefully it feels right to others, too.
Q: In the video, intercut with stunning clips of your rooftop performance, the band cycles through a few pretty extreme costume changes. What's the significance of those in relation to the song?
A: We wanted the video to play into the idea of what it means to be cool versus not cool. Sometimes when people think of a band they picture this group of really serious people, totally cool rock 'n' rollers - some real bad folks. That's totally not us, so for the video we thought it would be neat to put ourselves in these different scenarios and costumes that poke fun or challenge those norms/cliches in a tongue-in-cheek way.
Q: What does Capital Soiree have in the works for the future?
A: Definitely some more new music! We want to stay active, especially with today's lack of shows, so we'll be rolling out some more singles ASAP.