I, Captain’s latest single, “The News,” didn’t come from some grand concept album or meticulous studio campaign. It’s a thing that fell into place once the dust began to settle, and it punches all the harder for it.
As the third track on a four-song EP of unreleased music, “The News” exudes the quiet confidence of a song that doesn’t need to shout to be heard. Though it could have been included on an earlier album or left homeless for years, “The News” now occupies an obvious pedestal of evidence that not every gem can be captured in a box.
The instrumentation is minimal but purposeful, allowing space for each note and word, the emotion driving the momentum rather than a manufactured crescendo.
Lyrically, “The News” encapsulates this taut sensation of feeling stranded in a world where the news hits harder than home, where what we’re told and how we think often play on different registers. It’s not a song beseeching revolution; it’s one slowly unraveling under its burden. It’s honest. Human. Heavy in the best way.
What makes this track and the EP overall so compelling is its raw, unpolished nature. There’s no pretense here. Only songs that didn’t match before are now collected almost cohesively, like puzzle pieces finally slipping into place.
And while “The News” might have been an outtake, it’s front and center now and well earned. I, Captain, also remind you that sometimes the best music is made in light that almost never seeps into the light.