Jan. 20--Fetty Wap and Blink-182. Drake and Say Anything. Justin Bieber and Fall Out Boy.
At a moment when the Internet has hastened the erosion of traditional genre lines, the idea of a pop idol or a rapper teaming with an emo band isn't as hard to imagine as it once might have been. But just because something can be envisioned doesn't mean someone has actually done it -- at least in real life.
Give thanks, then, to Captain Cuts, the Los Angeles trio that gives virtual life to those fantasy-league collaborations on "If You're Listening It's Never Too Late," a delightful new mixtape that mashes up songs by today's chart stars with yesterday's drama kings. Posted last month on the free streaming site SoundCloud (where it quickly racked up more than a quarter of a million plays), the half-hour-long set conjures fond memories of a not-so-distant past -- no surprise, given that it grew out of Captain Cuts' regular DJ gig at Taking Back Tuesday, a popular L.A. club night catering to emo fans who came of age in the early to mid-2000s.
Yet the mixtape is more than a millennial nostalgia trip. It's also a savvy demonstration of musical understanding that peaks when the trio seamlessly matches the yelping vocals from the All-American Rejects' "Swing, Swing" to the pulsing electronic groove of "Where Are ܠNow," the ubiquitous 2015 banger by Jack ܠfeaturing Bieber.
"At the time, the emo stuff wasn't really for the mainstream," said Ben Berger, one-third of Captain Cuts, along with Ryan Rabin and Ryan McMahon. "It was something for the kids in the scene to hold on to and kind of build a community around. But when you listen back, it's clear these guys were great pop songwriters. The melodies are hit melodies."
Berger should know: When they're not revising guitar-band history, the three (all between ages 28 and 30) work as freelance writers and producers in L.A.'s busy pop-music industry. Last year they scored a top 5 single with "Shut Up and Dance," by Walk the Moon, and co-wrote and produced "Roman Holiday," a cut from Halsey's "Badlands" album, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2.
Like virtually everything on Top 40 radio, the Captain Cuts sound is slick and precision-geared. Yet Berger said their goal isn't merely to impress other producers with their programming skills. "Cool but approachable," he called it, adding, "We want our music to be something that a kid and their mom can both enjoy."
