Album review: CAP OUTRUN – High On Deception

Frontiers [release date 10.12.21]

Swedish rock band, Cap Outrun’s debut album integrates Progrock with Melodic Rock. A bold mix of nostalgia and modernism.

One of the prime reasons for Progrock’s popularity is the music’s illusion of improvisation. You’re not quite sure what’s coming next, it could be a lightning strike of brilliance, it could be a damp squib.

Enjoying a significant share of the former, Cap Outrun craft sturdily melodic songs, angular, granular, often creating musical tangles that combine hard rock convention with an improvisational ethos, real or imagined.

Their debut album is impossible to categorise. The PR blurb is as short a piece of prose as you’re likely to encounter. So we’re on our own, feeling our way in the dark.

There’s a lot of moving parts to this album. Just when you think you’ve got one of them pinned down, it squirms out of your grasp. And while the album provides full on sonic engagement, it’s impossible to pick standouts.

At random then, openers ‘Crazy Enough’ and ‘High On Deception’ move at different tempos. They share a rich mix of AOR and Progressive Rock in the manner of Toto, then add Steely Dan like Jazz/Rock touches at just the right moments. The classy piano breaks add romanticism to an already busy rock’n'roll recipe.

‘Disaster Mindset’ is at once quite stripped down and also very romantic – a sophisticated ballad for grown ups, with a playfully proggy middle section.

‘Shadows On The Wall’ is a peach. The soft swell of keys and pealing guitar notes introduce us to more Westcoast Prog/Rock, though the excessively wordy lyrics go some way in spoiling the effect.

‘Our Brightest Day’ and ‘Run Before We Walk’ could only be described as out and out melodic rock songs. They show up vocalist, Chandler (Outloud) Mogen as being a key recruit, handling the sentiments and emotions in these songs with the gravitas and style of a Lou Gramm or Denis DeYoung.

Along with Mogen, founding members Andree Theander (guitars) and Erik Wiss, (keyboards), could really be onto something with this band. Mixing genres doesn’t have a great success rate, but if bands like the Von Hertzen Brothers can do it, why not Cap Outrun? ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan


Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Josh Taerk Sunday Sessions 2024

Latest session: Sunday 25 February
Next session: Sunday 14 April

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio



David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 25 February 2024.


UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 27 February 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com


Power Plays w/c 4 March 2024

COLLATERAL Glass Sky (Big Shot Records)
THE ZUTONS Pauline (ICEPOP)
THE GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS Rise Above It All (Mascot)
MATT PEARCE & THE MUTINY From Here To The Moon (indie)
THE BLACK VULTURES Never Say (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 4 March 2024

09:00-12:00 LEE AARON Tattoo Me (Metalville)
12:00-13:00 THE END MACHINE The Quantum Phase (Frontiers)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023


To see our Tweets you need to be logged in to a Twitter account



Popular (last 10 days)


This entry was posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply