Las Vegas screamo band Caravels‘ sole full-length, 2013’s Lacuna, remains one of the true gems of its era. We named it one of the 100 best punk & emo albums of the 2010s at the tail-end of 2019, and we looked back on it this year for its 10th anniversary. Today, it gets a new 10th anniversary reissue via Topshelf with updated artwork and a new mix by Great Grandpa’s Dylan Hanwright. It’s out now digitally, and in honor of its release, the band has broken down six major influences behind the now-classic album. Here’s what they picked and had to say about each one:
Envy – A Dead Sinking Story
An absolute juggernaut. Envy was one of our first introductions to the genre and became instrumental to our progression throughout the years. A beautiful, foundational record for us.
mewithoutYou – Catch For Us The Foxes
An underlying thread to everything we’ve ever done. This one should be taught in schools.
Kidcrash – Snacks
A quintessential van-jam. It doesn’t matter where we were. It doesn’t matter what time of day. It was always the right time to play Snacks.
These Arms Are Snakes – Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home
An all-timer. We would put this album on Mount Rushmore if we could. Though that begs the question: who gets the ax? Jefferson perhaps. George Washington, Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Brian Cook taught us how to air-bass.
Daïtro – Y
Genre staple for us. Laissez Vivre Les Squelettes is incredible as well (and admittedly more well-known) but for whatever reason this album especially resonated with us. Parts of me wish every band sounded a bit more like Daïtro.
Crash of Rhinos – Distal
Colossal in every sense of the word. I don’t know if any band makes me feel the way Crash of Rhinos did. I still smile thinking about this record. Big Sea forever.
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Listen to the new remixed, remastered version and read more about the album below. Caravels also announced a one-off reunion show happening at Dive Bar in Las Vegas on December 22 with King of Heck (who just announced a new album) and Lords of Death.
Album announcement:
Motivated by a recent mention in Brooklyn Vegan and the idea of giving new life to a mostly forgotten project, defunct Las Vegas group Caravels decided in early 2023 that their emotional, gripping debut LP Lacuna was worthy of a re-mix and re-master. Since 2013, the album has organically built up a cult classic status and has been considered a lost gem amongst close followers of the ever-evolving hardcore scene. The heart pounding rhythm section, sharp-cornered guitar riffs, and vocalist Mike Roeslein’s brutally gorgeous scream-vocals still sound completely exhilarating ten years later.
The band also enlisted Great Grandpa’s Dylan Hanwright to mix the album anew, resulting in a vastly cleaner, meatier mix that brings justice to the influential material played in basements across North America to emo revival fans in the early 2010s.
