Though we can’t really call this K-pop, I need to write about the new EL CAPITXN single anyway. For those unfamiliar with him, EL CAPITXN debuted as the main vocalist of underrated boy group History. However, he developed a condition that affected his vocals and can no longer sing the way he used to. Because of this, he made a highly successful transition into a songwriter and producer. Readers of this blog will know him best as the mastermind behind most of AHOF’s discography, but he’s scored big hits with many K-pop artists.

For his debut solo album, EL CAPITXN has ceded vocal performance to a variety of guest singers and become their avatar for the project’s visual component. The album is a wild ride. It transitions into something more scattershot at the halfway point, but its first “act” is the kind of rock opera bombast I live for. I was the guy who wore out albums from Meat Loaf and Sparks in the past, so while I understand that something as over-the-top as Sing This Song For Me won’t appeal to everyone, it’s one hundred percent for me.

Knowing EL CAPITXN’s background helps appreciate the dramatized version of his story driving this song. Without the constraints of his own voice, it’s as if he imagined the most dramatic, theatrical version of this tale he could tell. We’re talking choirs, pummeling guitar, cartoonish (maybe too cartoonish?) monologues and a structure that feels more like Broadway than typical rock or pop songwriting. It’s all anchored by an ultra-catchy chorus that swings for the rafters in the most exciting way. The interplay between The Social Reject Choir and vocalist Jagwar Twin is so incredibly satisfying — especially if you turn the volume all the way up. Hearing something this ambitious makes me wonder if the K-pop industry would ever let EL CAPITXN let loose in a similar way for an idol group. We could certainly use the vision!

Grade: A