Capital Punishment
Dave Stekert
Ben Stiller was the drummer of a post-punk band in high school. Named Capital Punishment, the band’s 1982 album, Roadkill, will be reissued by Captured Tracks on Sept. 14.
The revival is kicking off with the release of their first single, “Muzak Anonymous,” described in a statement as a “Beefheart-ian, gong-afied freak-funk that needs to be heard to be believed.” You can hear a young Stiller’s steady percussion behind a truly funky sonic arrangement that answers the lyrics, “Consumers speak please,” with “A-B-C-D, master.”
Capital Punishment was formed in 1979 in New York City by “high school weirdos who actually got their shit together enough to make a completely uncommercial album.” Band members include Kriss Roebling, a documentarian whose ancestors built the Brooklyn Bridge; Peter Zusi, professor at University College London; and Peter Swann, a future Supreme Court Justice for the state of Arizona.
The industrial-psychedelic 1982 LP will be reissued in an expanded and remastered format, in translucent red vinyl, cassette, and CD. Check out the track list and a class photo below, and pre-order Roadkill here.
1. “Necronomicon”
2. “Roadkill”
3. “Confusion”
4. “Muzak Anonymous”
5. “All Just In Passing”
6. “Delta Time”
7. “Creatures of the Dark (Night)”
8. “Cosmos”
9. “John’s Forgotten Land (Parts 1, 2, and 3)”
10. “Necronomicon” (Reprise)
11. “Waiting To See You” (1979 bonus track)
12. “Helen” (1983 bonus track)