Review By Solomon Bass

*EL Kapitan

Haywire / Koal Bin Records - CD

Opening with Rainforest Serenade, I'm reminded a bit of Peter Gabriel with it's pop techno sound. Although El Kapitan may be labeled techno, when words are added and actually say something, it tends to carry more weight with me.. as is the case here. Perhaps singing about the rainforest isn't breaking new ground, but this Nashua, NH duo have put there own indelible twist on it. The Wild Ride is a heavy guitar driven, herky jerky quirky techno song about surfing. This is a first for me and quite a departure from the traditional Dick Dale/Beach Boys style, but works nonetheless. A listen to The Wild Ride driving drums and overall intensity will no doubt convince you as well. In the large and growing world of techno, El Kapitan has there own DNA and won't be confused with others. A quick spin will reveal that. The Duo of Kirk Bartholomew and Marc Soucy have created a commercially viable CD that stands proudly. Or as Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinnie would say, "It holds water". - By N. Casino

Haywire / Reviewed in The Anvil

"Haywire" catches you by surprise. A clever mixture of dark and light, heavy musical that's fun, groove, relentless forward energy, and even some humor. The songs present a future/present that the listener can revel in... or be pretty worried about. Fully half the cd is instumental, itself an interesting choice, almost as though words aren't always necessary to communicte the messages. Indeed, El Kapitan, led by Kirk "The Captain" Bartholomew, makes you think, then turns your thoughts back on themselves several times before you reach the end of any given song." ...

"If your taste runs to rhythms and power, believe me there is plenty to chew on." ... "Bartholomew's metallic guitar riffs link the band's sound to his roots in heavy metal, but make no mistake, this may be the future of metal, not its past." ... "from the lyrical meandering lead guitar on "Trail of Tears" to the snappy licks of "Pay Me", Bartholomew proves his competence and vision. His vocal contributions range from alientating robot-like pronouncements to angry admonishments, with an occasional side trip to the megaphoned carnival barker. All of this seems to make some sort of sense in the context of songs and the apparent message of the cd: The world is in our hands, so let's stop destroying it and have fun!"

Haywire / Review from SoundCheck Magazine

El Kapitan is Kirk Bartholemew: guitars, bass and vocals; Marc Soucy: keyboards, samplers, and programming. Haywire is produced by Marc Soucy, You know that old saying about judging a book by its cover, Well the corollary is "You can't judge a band by its name." Neither the name of the band, name of the CD, or cover art give any clue about the contents of this recording. Much of the lyrics deal in a sometimes humorous way with how haywire things have become, yet the precision and predictability of the electronic music are anything but confused and haywire. Being a drummer, I am partial to music with a live drummer and had I known that Haywire was programmed and sequenced music, I would have passed reviewing on it. The drum programming is good, as is the rest, but for me it's just not the same when a machine lays it down. Half the tunes are instrumentals and the rest have vocals that seem to be intentionally subdued in the mix to add to the overall progressive techno sound of the CD. There are several musical styles like hardrock, alternative, metal,and even a sort of rockabilly all blended into the overall electronic techno sound. "Trail of Tears" and "Mysteria" would make great soundtracks for suspense or gothic movies.

As I say, programmed music is not a favorite of mine even though the music on this CD is well-executed and produced. My suggestion to El Kapitan would be to temper the electronics with a bit more human touch and use dynamics to let the muic breathe. If you can imagine and enjoy a meeting of a progressive rock band with Tangerine Dream, you will enjoy Haywire. -Joe Scoglio

Haywire / Review from Metronome Magazine

The synthesizer driven nuances of El Kapitan are the creation of Kirk Bartholomew on giuter, bass and vocals and Marc Soucy on keyboards, samplers and programing. Between the heavy industrial sound sweeps, Soucy and Bartholomew lay in clever patches of color and design that make the arrangements come to life. In fact some of these compositions border on the genius making Haywire an extremely engaging body of work. Coolest cuts are "The Wild Ride", "Snowrider", and "Jekyll to Hyde".