The Capricorns
Encyclopedia
The Capricorns were an indie rock
band consisting of Heather Lynn and Kirsten Nordine, both of whom sing and play keyboards
, with Lynn also playing tambourine
. They formed their band in the spring of 2000, playing on vintage Casio
keyboards purchased at garage sales. They write pop songs
which one of their labels described as combining "infectious hooks with 'dear diary' lyrics". They are originally from Grayslake, Illinois
.
Nordine and Lynn traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio
to record their first album, The Capricorns Are Gonna Get You, a now-out of print
cassette released on their own label. Jason Barnett, of Paroxysm Records, heard the record, and offered them a record contract.
Their second album, In the Zone, was described by Kotori magazine as "All casio all the time (with occasional tambourine), they've got hooks so sweet you can't help but get addicted". and by Allmusic as "the perfect soundtrack for when the Powerpuff Girls become the Powerpuff Late Teenagers, mixing in a touch more angst but still gleefully kicking ass and taking names."
The duo's last album, Pure Magical Love, was released in January 2006, and according to Jessie Nelson of the Athens Exchange, "oozes quintessential girliness", going on to describe it as "girl music for women who remember being ten, dressing up in old clothes and dancing around the living room to Madonna". A winter tour that coincided with that album's release ended early after Lynn's car "blew up"; in an April 2006 MySpace blog entry (their most recent blog entry ), Lynn implies the duo is no longer active:
In spring of 2008, Heather Lynn created a live performance of the Pure Magical Love record that she performed at Version Festival in Chicago. This evolved into a band called Pure Magical Love. Combining performance art and live music, Pure Magical Love "http://www.myspace.com/puremagicalloveisreal" is like the Capricorns on crack. Pure Magical Love's first record, "Glorificus", will be released in 2010 on Tell Me Records (home of Dandi Wind
, Fe, etc.).
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band consisting of Heather Lynn and Kirsten Nordine, both of whom sing and play keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, with Lynn also playing tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
. They formed their band in the spring of 2000, playing on vintage Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
keyboards purchased at garage sales. They write pop songs
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
which one of their labels described as combining "infectious hooks with 'dear diary' lyrics". They are originally from Grayslake, Illinois
Grayslake, Illinois
Grayslake is a village in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area, about north of Chicago’s downtown, west of Lake Michigan, and south of the Wisconsin border....
.
Band history
On the band's website, Lynn commented on their start and early success:- When we started making music, it was just for fun. We knew that Kirsten would be moving away in a few months and i would be focused on my writing. We didn't anticipate that people would be so into our music or that we would ever end up putting out records. It's really rad that people like us so much, but because we didn't start a band to become famous or to get signed or whatever we aren't necessarily motivated by the same things that other bands are.
Nordine and Lynn traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
to record their first album, The Capricorns Are Gonna Get You, a now-out of print
Out of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
cassette released on their own label. Jason Barnett, of Paroxysm Records, heard the record, and offered them a record contract.
Their second album, In the Zone, was described by Kotori magazine as "All casio all the time (with occasional tambourine), they've got hooks so sweet you can't help but get addicted". and by Allmusic as "the perfect soundtrack for when the Powerpuff Girls become the Powerpuff Late Teenagers, mixing in a touch more angst but still gleefully kicking ass and taking names."
The duo's last album, Pure Magical Love, was released in January 2006, and according to Jessie Nelson of the Athens Exchange, "oozes quintessential girliness", going on to describe it as "girl music for women who remember being ten, dressing up in old clothes and dancing around the living room to Madonna". A winter tour that coincided with that album's release ended early after Lynn's car "blew up"; in an April 2006 MySpace blog entry (their most recent blog entry ), Lynn implies the duo is no longer active:
In spring of 2008, Heather Lynn created a live performance of the Pure Magical Love record that she performed at Version Festival in Chicago. This evolved into a band called Pure Magical Love. Combining performance art and live music, Pure Magical Love "http://www.myspace.com/puremagicalloveisreal" is like the Capricorns on crack. Pure Magical Love's first record, "Glorificus", will be released in 2010 on Tell Me Records (home of Dandi Wind
Dandi Wind
Dandi Wind is a post-industrial band created in Vancouver, Canada in 2003. The band consisted of duo Dandilion Wind Opaine and Szam Findlay. Opaine went on to form the disco band Fan Death...
, Fe, etc.).
Discography
- The Capricorns Are Gonna Get You, circa 2000, out of print
-
- The Capricorns' song "Steve and Tiffanie" culled from The Capricorns Are Gonna Get You! is on the Kill Rock StarsKill Rock StarsKill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Tracks and Fields, April 6, 2004.
- The Capricorns' song "Steve and Tiffanie" culled from The Capricorns Are Gonna Get You! is on the Kill Rock Stars
- In The Zone, 2001, Paroxysm Records
- Go The Distance, July 2003, Banazan Records
-
- Sunset Over Malibu
- Beatbox
- 'Mickey Baby
- You'll Never Be Mine
- Recyclone
- Slow 80's Song
- Prisoners of Love
- Yeah, So?
- Everywhere I Go
- New York Is Burning
- Pure Magical Love, January 2006, Paroxysm Records
- Pure Magical Love (MP3 from the label's website)
- Vega City
- The Sailor
- Don't Close Your Eyes
- Runaway (MP3 from the label's website)
- Call Me Down
- Rilya
- Ghosts
- End of the World Love Song