Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Bush Hall, London, 5/3/2008
by Daniel Cressey
published: 22 / 3 / 2008
intro
Despite the pessimistic and miserablist leanings of Californian musician Owen Ashworth, Dan Cressey is both charmed and enjoys his solo electronic project Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's show at the Bush Hall in London
Despite his undeniably pessimistic and miserablist leanings, there is something curiously modest about Owen Ashworth. Combined with a slightly shambling nature, this ensures this Casiotone… gig remains enjoyable even when the subject matter veers towards areas that would be mawkish in other hands. He mixes a ruthless self-examination of past relationships with fuzzy, lo-fi and glitch ridden electronic backing. Imagine Hot Chip remixing Bright Eyes in a half-broken studio and you’re more than half way there. The ‘half-broken’ bit does become tedious at some points. Substituting electronically generated noise for solo interludes is all very well. Sometimes though these interludes degenerate into what sounds more like malfunction than music. Ashworth’s songs cover the ground from love to heart-ache, -break, and other aspects of romantic misfortune. But whether he’s delivering an apparently heartfelt admonition to a part time lover or communing with his house’s vermin in the absence of his lover, he’s never less than charming, even when declaring there should be “Less talk, more rock.” That would have been nice, and his occasional backing singer’s babbling about tap dancing didn’t help matters. His music may be simple but it is curiously affecting. Of the vermin he sings “the roommates say we should kill them all but they stay up with me on nights you never call, and some nights you never call” from the song on ‘We Have Mice’. You’d have to have a cold heart indeed not to feel for him, whatever your feelings towards mice. I’d agree with him when he says before one song “all the time I’ve wasted when I could be playing this”. He could have played for another hour without boring anyone. Less talk, more rock please.
Picture Gallery:-
reviews |
Advance Base Battery Life (2009) |
Variable compilation from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the lo-fi project of Californian keyboardist and singer and one man music machine, Owen Ashworth, which neverthless more than justifies its selling price |
Etiquette (2006) |
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPIn Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #5 - ‘We all have good intentions/ But all with strings attached’: Music and Mental Health Part 2
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Allan Clarke - Interview
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Madeline Bell - Interview
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
Feedback File - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesBill Wyman - Drive My Car
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
Philip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Deep Purple - =1
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Jules Winchester - The Journey
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart