Ben Caplan

'Birds with Broken Wings' (album stream)

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Sep 11, 2015

East Coast troubadour Ben Caplan is set to return with a new LP titled Birds with Broken Wings, but before it officially takes flight, Exclaim! is giving you a chance to hear the whole thing a week early.
 
Opening with the Balkan-esque folk stomp of the title track and the equally rich and bluesy "I Got Me a Woman," the album also delves into more melancholic territory with folk ballads like "Belly of the Worm" and "Devil Town." There's even a healthy dose of old-timey romance thanks to cuts like "Night Like Tonight" and "40 Days & 40 Nights."
 
"I don't exactly make dance music, but it's music that people dance to," Caplan said in a statement. "I don't know exactly how to articulate what it is I'm trying to do, I just do it. The instrumentation is very different from song to song.  I don't ask myself what genre it is, and I don't let that trouble me. That's why I wanted to work with [producer] Socalled. His albums aren't exactly hip-hop or klezmer, or any of the other many things they get called. They are so many things rolled into one. A thousand threads of influences weaved into one tapestry."
 
Expertly toeing the line between lush, orchestral folk and gruff, rough-and-tumble blues, Birds with Broken Wings is an entrancing and dynamic listen. Hear the whole thing in the player below before the album arrives on September 18 via Coalition Music.
 
Tour dates:
 
09/12 Quebec City, QC - Festival Envol et Macadam
09/16 Wolfville, NS - Al Whittle Hall
09/17 Wolfville, NS - Al Whittle Hall
09/18 Truro, NS - Champions Bar and Grill
09/19 Mount Stewart, PE - Trailside Cafe
09/21 New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall
09/22 New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall
09/23 Danbury, CT - Heirloom Arts Theatre
09/24 Burlington, VT - Club Metronome
09/25 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB
09/26 Burnstown, ON - Neat in the Woods Festival
09/29 Kingston, ON - The Mansion
09/30 Hamilton, ON - The Studio at Hamilton Place
10/01 Bayfield, ON - The Ashwood Bourbon Bar
10/02 Toronto, ON - The Mod Club
10/03 Kitchener, ON - The Boathouse
10/04 London, ON - The Aeolian Hall
10/06 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
10/07 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern
10/08 Columbus, OH - Woodlands Tavern
10/09 Newport, KY - The Southgate House Revival
10/10 Chicago, IL - Schubas
10/11 Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall
10/12 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
10/15 Winnipeg, MB - The Good Will Social Club
10/16 Saskatoon, SK - Amigos Cantina
10/17 Edmonton, AB - The Brixx Bar & Grill
10/18 Red Deer, AB - Fratters
10/20 Calgary, AB - The Gateway at SAIT
10/23 Nelson, BC - Hume Hotel | Spirit Bar
10/24 Kelowna, BC - Streaming Cafe
10/26 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret
10/28 Victoria, BC - Lucky Bar
10/29 Seattle, WA - Conor Byrne Pub
10/31 Willamina, OR - Wildwood Hotel
11/01 San Francisco, CA - The Chapel
11/03 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
11/04 Los Angeles, CA - No Vacancy
11/05 Phoenix, AZ - The Rebel Lounge
11/06 El Paso, TX - The Lowbrow Palace
11/07 Dallas, TX - Double Wide
11/10 Nashville, TN - City Winery
11/11 Charlotte, NC - Visulite
11/13 Philadelphia, PA - Milkboy
11/14 Portland, ME - One Longfellow Square
11/20 Halifax - Rebecca Cohn Theatre *
11/21 Halifax - Rebecca Cohn Theatre *
 
* with Symphony Nova Scotia
 

Tour Dates

Latest Coverage