Garage rock trio Capsula formed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1998, fusing the South American psychedelia of Os Mutantes and the much less well-known bands that appear on those grey-market compilations of vintage '60s South American singles with the twin passions of British glam rock (the name Capsula was chosen in homage to a line from David Bowie's "Space Oddity") and American proto-punk acts like the Velvet Underground and the Stooges. Singer and guitarist Martin Guevara, bassist Coni Lisica, and drummer Oscar Alvarez released their first three albums on the local indie La Nena. The high points of 1999's Sublime, 2000's Yudoka, and 2001's Ultimo Fragmento were compiled on the 2002 anthology Capsula, which served as an introduction to the group at a time when its brand of brash retro rock & roll was the next big thing courtesy of acts like the Hives and the White Stripes. Relocating from Buenos Aires to Bilbao, Spain, Capsula signed with the Spanish indie Discos Liliputs and released their fourth album, Songs & Circuits, in late 2006. Rising Mountains followed on the BCore Disc label in April 2009. ~ Stewart Mason
