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Belgian alternative/punk rock outfit Captain Kaiser has released the new single "Drive" off the band's forthcoming album Jay Maas-produced LP RHYME&REASON, due out later this year on [PIAS] Recordings.

"Drive" is the loud and clear announcement for a new phase of Captain Kaiser. With a punchier, heavier and more emotional sound, the band's frontman Sascha Vansant wrote “Drive” after the passing of his mother. Even without knowing this, one can easily hear the pain of loss and the feeling of driving senselessly into nothingness.

Vansant's lyrics soothe the soul as much as they cut it like a knife. You hear him search for every word, and in the end, the catharsis is deserved. It’s easy to imagine how he looks up to the sky, his band giving it all one more time in a rare euphoric moment on this quite dark, yet life-affirming record.

The band has grown, but that word means more than bigger rooms or stage. It refers to a new stage in their musical development, a level of emotional depth they’ve never explored before. Captain Kaiser sounds more raw and pure than ever, thanks to producer and hardcore wizard Jay Maas (Defeater, Title Fight, Death Of A Nation), without having lost their knack for catchy melodies. One calls it hardcore and others talk about postpunk, but let’s forget the tags and just feel it, right there where it hurts.

Their upcoming record RHYME&REASON, scheduled for Fall 2023, shows a band in their prime.