Joey Cape

"Let Me Know When You Give Up is the sound of a man completely at home in the role of musician and raconteur, but still exploring new boundaries in his art." - PunkNews (8/10)

Originally known as the singer, songwriter, and founder of both Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut, JOEY CAPE has established himself as a recognized solo artist over the past 13 years. His solo ventures have allowed him to stretch the bounds of his musical stylings, highlighting more diverse instrumentation, subdued pace, and experimental elements. The one constant, of course, is his unique ability to craft unforgettable songs.

Joey doesn’t want to call it an epiphany, but in recent years he’s come to a realization about life – specifically, the best way to live it. It’s a simple philosophy: even though we’re living in very troubled times, it’s important to not get bogged down by it all. As he incorporates that mindset into his day-to-day life, it naturally gets absorbed into his music, and serves as the crux of JOEY’S new solo album Let Me Know When You Give Up. This idea of simplifying your life and letting go of the struggle, rings clear throughout Let Me Know When You Give Up’s 11 tracks. “Andalusia” the album’s seventh track is a powerful song about the realization that you’re powerless. Starting off as a gentle, melancholy acoustic tune, it slowly builds and builds in force and intensity, as if searching for something that can – and never will – be found. Elsewhere, the country-tinged sway of “The Love Of My Life” and the driving and intense “Fighting Atrophy” both offer a blissful respite from the traumas and malaise of the outside world, while the insistent chug recalls a childhood sense of innocence that seems harder and harder to cling onto with each passing day. It all combines to make a record that captures that very spirit JOEY has been relying on in recent years and which has transformed his approach to life. As such, this whole album serves as that philosophical escape. Recorded at a home studio built by CAPE’s longtime friend, musical partner and lyrical collaborator Asher Simon, it’s the most expansive, accomplished and ambitious of CAPE’s four solo albums to date. The beautiful lilt of the title track soars with grace and hope, while “I Know How To Run” is a gloomy and lugubrious lament about the breakdown in communication – the ‘death of debate’, as he sings – that dominates contemporary political discourse. Let Me Know When You Give Up marks the start of a kind of renaissance for CAPE and his music. Rather than give it all up, he has the freedom to do the exact opposite – the stability to do whatever he wants with his music.

Guest Musicians: Neil Hennessy, Zach Quinn, Matt Riddle, Asher Simon, Brian Wahlstrom, and more!

RIYL: Lagwagon, Bad Astronaut, Tommy and June, Tony Sly, Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry
TRY: #1, 3, 5, 7, 8

Download full album here:
https://www.piratepirate.com/downloads/

More Info Here:
https://fatwreck.com/collections/joey-cape?view=artist
https://www.facebook.com/joeycape/
https://joeycape.bandcamp.com/
https://www.joeycape.com/